In case you haven’t heard, you can now get FabFitFun boxes delivered to the UK. When I found out, I couldn’t resist and had to treat myself!
Read moreTop Products I loved In 2017.
I tried to be a little more adventurous with the things I used this year, but alas I found myself coming back to the same ol’ bits and bobs. I’ve used all of these things throughout the year, and I’ve no doubt I will continue to use them this year too.
I’m going to get a bit of a weird one out of the way first. Cuticure Antibacterial Gel. I’ve always been the type of girl who if I have anti-bac, I’d throw it in my bag and maybe remember to use, but now, I always have a bottle on me and I’m forever using it. I’ve a big bottle of the original one on my desk, a small travel Floral & Fruity one in my bag, as well as a small bottle of the original one in the pocket of my work jacket. It dries super quick, doesn’t leave your hands feeling tacky and smells really nice for an anti-bac. I tried out a fair few different moisturiser last year, I can tell you this because of all the half-finished tubs I have sitting around my room. My favourite all over moisturiser was E-45 Cream. I started using this when I got an abscess on my face and the doctor recommended it to stop my face drying out and I really like it. It does exactly what it says on the tin, it’s thick, sinks in super fast, has no fragrance and can be used pretty much anywhere you find dry skin. They have recently brought it out in a spray bottle, which I thought would be fab because I can be quite lazy, but I didn’t find it was as thick as the cream, so I gave up with it after a while. One the subject of moisturisers, I tried the Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer as well as the Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream and I have to say they are by far my favourite duo, I’m itching to get a full size of the eye cream because it’s as close to a miracle as I’ve found so far. If you want to know more about my thoughts, I did a post about them which you can find here.
Sticking with skin care for a little bit longer, I continually found myself reaching for my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and Gentle Face Exfoliator. I have used the cleanser for a few years and really like it, it’s great at taking off make up as well as just giving your skin a good old clean. I got the exfoliator this year, when I decided I needed to do something about how dry my skin was, and this was recommended to me a lot, and now I think it’s the best skincare duo I’ve ever tried. My hair has been a bit of an issue over the last year, falling out, thinning, it was a nightmare, I tried so many shampoos but they all weighed my hair down or just didn’t leave me with that freshly washed feeling. However, not all was lost because I tried the Garnier Delicate Oats Shampoo and Conditioner and loved it! It’s light, nourishing, has no parabens, and smells pretty good too. This has been the hair care duo I’ve come back to time and time again and I expect it will not be leaving my shower any time soon.
Make-up wise, there wasn’t an awful lot I tried, purely because it wasn’t really until the end of the year that I was wearing more, but there were two lip products that I kept picking up all year round, both of which I have spoken about before. The Nars Lip Pencil in Tortola and Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Lipstick in Opium Noir were the stars of last year. They were both long-lasting, yet creamy on my lips, didn’t dry them out, and were beautiful shades. My aim this year is to invest in some other shades from both these brands and hopefully branch out a bit more with my colour palette. Lastly, a perfume. I got this Si by Giorgio Armani perfume the Christmas before last and I am in love with it. I love the smell and got so many compliments when I wore it. I don’t often repurchase perfume, just because I usually get given so much at Christmas and on my Birthday, but this is one I’m hoping I will add to my collection again this year because I don’t think I can be without it for very long.
So those are all the product I loved using last year and will no doubt continue to use throughout this year too. Let me know in the comment what your star products of the year were because I’d love to know.
Clinique Christmas Essentials Review.
I’ve been a fan of Clinique for years! I love their moisturisers, their Chubby Sticks and have their Sonic Purifying Cleansing Brush. I recently tried some of their Pep-Start bits in the summer and I really liked them so when I saw this set as the Star Buy at Boots I had to have it, it was £30 which when you consider the moisturiser on its own is worth £24, was a bit of a bargain.
Skincare wise this set is bursting with it, most of which was new to me and some bit that I haven’t even got around to trying yet. But the things I have tried I love! I’ve tried the other Pep-Start Moisturiser and I have to say I did like it, but I much prefer this Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturiser. It leaves my skin feeling super smooth and soft, and while it says it’s the perfect base to apply makeup onto, I’ve found this blurs the slight imperfections enough that I don’t feel the need for makeup. It minimises my pores, reduces some of my redness and gives a great hit of moisture. I love to pair this with the Pep-Start Eye Cream, I find that it isn’t too thick that it doesn’t sink in, but it’s thick enough that it feels like it’s doing something. While it doesn’t magically make the bags under my eyes disappear, it does make the area look brighter and I have noticed with extended use the area doesn’t look quite so dark anymore.
The Pep-Start 2-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser is another item I love, it’s a fine exfoliant that doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. It buffs my skin just enough that it gets rid of all the dead skin, making my skin super soft while not making my skin tingle or red like other scrubs have done before. The last skincare item I’ve tried is the Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, lashes & Lips, which I’m a bit torn about. While it did wonders at taking off my eyeliner and mascara with little to no work, it did make my eyes sting. Now I do suffer with really sensitive eyes and prefer using my Simple Miceller water, but I can’t fault that it does a really good job. The other products included that I haven’t tried yet are the Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate and the Take The Day Off Cleanser Balm, both of which I’m excited to try, especially the hydrating concentrate because I do suffer from super dry skin.
I hadn’t really delved into Clinique makeup apart from their Chubby Stick Lip Balms before, which I still really like, so I was excited to try some of their core products and let me tell you I pretty much loved everything. My best find? The Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen. I do not do well with eyeliner, whether its liquid, gel or pencil, no matter how long lasting it promises to be, I find it always either smudges or transfers to the top of my eyelid. But this stuff is magic. I obviously didn’t have massively high hopes the first time I used it but my god am I converted. It goes on so easily, the nib is just thin enough that one stroke across your eyelid gives you a really nice subtle look, but it can be built up for something a bit more heavier if you want. I wore it to work, and it didn’t budge all day, the real test of the day being when I forgot I was wearing makeup and rubbed my eyes (which happens far more that I would care to admit) and it still looked pretty much like I’d just applied it. If you have problems with eyeliner or are just looking for a new one in general I would definitely recommend this one. Keeping with the eye theme, I also really liked the High Impact Mascara, now I’m not really fussy with mascara as longs as it’s not clumpy, separates my eyelashes and doesn’t flake and this one doesn’t move, flake, clump or anything, I was equally impressed with this.
The Pep-Start Perfecting Balm in Guava Tint was another winner. I love a lip balm that gives you a hint of colour because most of the time I cannot be bothered with lipstick. I constantly worry about it smudging or getting on my teeth and I spend the day scared to eat and drink. So I’m definitely more of a lip balm girl and this was perfect. It was super soft and hydrating on my lips, which my very dry, chapped, winter lips loved. The colour is also super pretty, it’s just enough of a colour that you can tell you’re wearing something but it isn’t super bold. Win win. The only item I wasn’t 100% convinced about was the Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Love Pop, I wanted to like this, I really did. The colour is literally my favourite lip colour and when I applied it, it went on beautifully but there was glitter in it. Glitter is a big no no for me, I think it can look great on other people, but not on me. Had this not had glitter in then this would have been a sure fire win, but alas, it will probably be something I put in a drawer and forget about but refuse to get rid of because of how pretty the colour is.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the Clinique Christmas Essentials gift set. I think it would be the perfect gift to give someone who loves Clinique or skincare and makeup in general. Unfortunately it is no longer a star gift, so it’s back up to full price, but I still think it’s worth the price tag, you can buy it here.
Getting Ready To Go Out When You Don't Really Feel Like It.
So me and some other lovely bloggers have decided to do a little bit of a collab. Since friday there has been a blog post every day going up on someone’s blog all to do with beauty, from what to take when you travel to beauty set-ups, it’s all happening. These girls are lovely so be sure to check them all out and give them all a follow:
https://ferniex.wordpress.com/
https://missamymaria.wordpress.com/
http://www.wonderlandwarblings.com/
Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like to get all jazzed up if I know I’m going somewhere special or out for the day but there are times when I simply can not be bothered. A few weeks ago (after an 11-day stint in hospital I might add), my dad phoned me up to tell me we were going out for dinner. You don’t understand the excitement I felt at the prospect of going out somewhere, I guess being cooped up in the same room for nearly two weeks straight will do that to you. But I was tired and my body was having a particularly achey day so I really wasn’t in the mood to spend ages getting ready and making myself look all prim and proper. So I decided to show you how I get ready when I really don’t have the energy!
Skincare is something that I know I should be better at, but let’s be real, who has time to do a double cleanse when their bed is calling? Not me! But I must say that I have got better the last few months, the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is an absolute god-send. Anywho, because I knew I wasn’t going to be spending loads of time on my skin I decided to just used a Simple Cleansing Facial Wipe to get rid of any grime or dirt that had built up over the course of the day. I don’t claim to know a lot, but I know that make up goes on best on a clean, fresh face. Then I used the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer (try saying that ten times fast!), and I just love this. I was first introduced to this tonic in a bottle and you had to pour some onto a cotton pad to use, but I must prefer this spritzer. Yes, I’m lazy, but I also find that it makes me feel so much more refreshed after a few sprays. Also can we just appreciate how good all of the Liz Earle products smell?! I tend to use this before my moisturizer and because its loaded up with aloe vera and cucumber it really helps calm any redness of my skin, of which there’s a lot. (Especially my cheeks, anyone else have this problem?)
Next I go in with a moisturiser. My skin is super-duper dry and I have been searching high and low for a moisturiser that stops the dryness but isn’t super duper thick. And this is as close to a winner I’ve got. The Clinique Pep-Start Hydrorush Moisturizer isn’t too thick and sinks into the skin wonderfully. I wouldn’t call this a heavy-duty moisturizer because at the end of a long day I find that I start to see dry patches on my forehead and around my nose, but the only thing I’ve found so far that doesn’t is E45 Cream (seriously, this is my go to moisturizer always!), but because we were just going out for the evening I knew it would do the trick. It also contains SPF 20 and we all know how important that is and considering I only have to look at the sun to become a tomato, every little helps!
Fortunately, for some strange unknown reason that I won’t question, my skin has been breakout free for the last few months so I decided to skip putting a base on. However, normally I’d reach for the Bourjois 123 Perfect Colour Correcting Cream. It has a light coverage and I find it so quick and easy to blend out. Because of the addition of the green, apricot and white pigments in the formula, it evens out the skin tone perfectly, dark circles and redness be gone! Like I say, my skin was doing okay and honestly if there’s a step I can skip, I’m going to skip it! On days like this when I was feeling tired but wanted to at least look like I had made an effort, I typically just focus on the eyes and lips. I find they’re the quickest and easiest things to do, and I can be out the door in minutes. For my eyes, if I’m in a rush or don’t have the energy to sit and blend a thousand colours to get the perfect shade, I always reach for the Maybelline Color Tatoo in the shade On and On Bronze. I find these eyeshadows are so easy to just pat on and blend out for a nice subtle colour, plus they are super long-lasting without an eye primer (yay for another step we can skip) and they don’t crease. This particular shade is my favourite because it gives a really nice bronze sheen, however a word of caution, because of the staying power of these once its on there, it’s on there so you have to move in quick with the blending.
I always curl my lashes because mine are very straight and I’ve yet to find a mascara that gives me a curl that lasts. Recently I’ve been reaching for this little Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara, I’m not particularly fussy with mascaras, but I like this one because it’s not clumpy and it’s travel size, which is a win win for me. Lastly, lips. This product is probably the holy grail for me, I find myself reaching for it again and again, that at this point it may as well just be a permanent fixture on my face. The Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Tortola, I love everything about it. The formula, the colour, the packaging, even the smell. If there was one product I had to choose to stay with me for the rest of my life, this would be it. Despite being matte, it isn’t drying on the lips and the staying power is amazing, which is great because it means I don’t have to worry about getting up to reapply. (Honestly, it lasted 2 courses and a fair few vodka lemonades before I needed a touch up!) It literally glides on like butter and with one swipe you’re done.
My hair is going through a pretty funky stage at the moment. Because of some medication I was taking, as well as an iron deficiency, my hair likes to go through phases of falling out. So my hair is nowhere as thick or long as it was last year, it kills me to look at holiday photos from last year because I yearn for that hair back. Anywho, it’s getting to the stage where it is starting to thicken up but it just needs a bit of help. I really like this Batiste Texturing Spray because it helps give my hair a bit of texture, obviously, and helps it not look as flat and lifeless as it normally is. The other thing I love is it doesn’t leave behind that tacky feel in your hair, so it literally doesn’t feel like you’ve used any product. I would issue a word of warning though, the spray comes out with a bit of a vengeance, so definitely be careful with that, you get a lot of product in just one spray. Finally I add a touch of perfume, my favourite right now is Si by Giorgio Armani which I got from my dad and step-mum for christmas and I adore it so much, the bottles nearly empty.
So there you have it, my quick and easy routine for getting ready when you really don’t want to. Getting ready to go out still makes me feel good and I enjoy doing it but sometimes the energy and effort it takes puts me off, but I find keeping the steps to a minimum helps and all in all it took me only 10 minutes which is a god send when you can’t stand in front of the mirror for ages. If you’ve got any tips for getting ready when you can’t be bothered let me know down below!
Don’t forget this is part of a collab with some fantastic ladies so be sure to go and check out all their other post’s and give them a follow to keep up to date with the rest of their fantastic content, I’ve linked their Twitter and post’s below.
Fern – Make Up, Set Up
Amy – The Make Up Travel Pack
Ashleigh
Skincare Routine.
I don’t by any mean profess to really know that much about skincare, everything I’ve learnt has come from YouTubers and Bloggers. Also, I’m lazy, so I can rarely be bothered to spend anything longer than a few minutes doing anything skincare related. But recently I’ve had some terrible breakouts and my skin has been a lot tighter and drier than usual so I thought I should probably try and do something to fix it! So I’ve been trying to really think of what I’ve been putting on my skin and trying to make sure I have a bit more of a solid routine.
Something that is a stupidly simply step that I just was too lazy to ever include in whatever little routine I had was using a Micellar water. I usually use this as a really quick way to get rid of any dirt on my face and give my skin a hit of hydration. I’ve tried a fair few but my favourite is by far the Simple Micellar Cleansing Water, it’s really gentle on my skin and has a lovely fresh scent to it. Sometimes when I’m feeling super lazy I’ll find myself reaching for the Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. I definitely don’t feel like my skin feels as clean as it could after using these, but when I’ve had a ridiculously busy day this is the best I can do. I do try not to use them too much though because I find that using face wipes can sometimes dry my face out a little bit. Something that I’ve loved for the last few years and have made a staple in my skincare routine is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I find this soothes my skin, stops it getting dry and gets rid of any redness I may have. I’ve also found that it’s helped keep my breakouts at bay, at least for now. The best thing is that it literally takes all of five minutes, so even on days where I’d rather just get into bed, I know this is something that will take hardly any time and will leave my skin feeling nourished, clean and soft.
If I am having a bit of a bad breakout phase, I tend to reach for the Clinique Liquid Facial Soap. I’ll use it when I first get into the shower because I feel it gives a deep clean and by doing it in the shower before I wash my hair means that I can easily add this step in as and when I feel like I need it. The only thing that I would say about this is that I’m not particularly fond of the smell, theres just something about it that I don’t like and I find that sometimes the smell lingers. When I’m finished with this tube, I’m going to invest in the actual soap bar and see if I like that any better. Another step that I add into my routine if I’m having a bit of a breakout is my Witch Blemish Skin. I found its great for if I have a really angry spot that decides to pop up, I prefer to use this in the evening because it does tend to really dry my skin out, so I’ll use it in the evening and by the time I wake up it wont look quite so red and angry, theres even been some instances where I’ve caught it early enough that the spot disappears entirely. Witchcraft (that was bad, but I couldn’t resist).
I’ve tried hundreds of moisturisers, it’s a huge downfall of mine that as soon as I see a new moisturiser hit the shelves I feel the need to get my hands on it. The issue that I find is that I never feel like they keep my skin moisturised for long enough or that it just doesn’t do anything for my skin. However, when I suffered from an abscess on the side of my face I had to stop putting any products on my skin that might cause it to flare up and I was recommended E45 Cream as a moisturiser. I haven’t stopped using it since. It’s quite a thick heavy duty cream but it really sinks into the skin and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight or tingling like some of the ones I’d tried before. There’s no real smell to it which I quite like because it means I don’t end up smelling the product for the whole day, something I find happens with certain products. I’ve definitely been converted to the E45 brand!
Something I could never get my head around was a day time as well as a night time cream, not only because I was too lazy but because I was never really sure what I was looking for. But I recently started using the Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate for Night in the evenings after I use the E45 cream and I really think it’s starting to make a difference. My skin is no longer dry, red patches are gone and when I wake up in the morning my skin looks brighter and plumper. This oil doesn’t have the best of smells but it could certainly be worse, I do like the fact there is a hint of lavender which is definitely calming before falling asleep. I’ve also never been one to do face masks, I’ve never really seen the appeal of them but after hearing everybody rave about the Garnier Skinactive Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask I just had to try it. It leaves my skin feeling soft and looking a bit brighter as well as giving it a big hit of moisture which is definitely needed, especially during the colder months, but to be honest I can see me using this year round and the fact it’s only £1 is amazing.
So there you have it my incredibly basic skincare routine. I have to say, since I’ve taken the time to care for skin I have noticed a huge change and I wish I’d done it sooner. I’m sure there are plenty of other things that I’ll end up adding and taking out of the routine, but as it stands, I like that this is a relatively quick and simple routine that I don’t struggle to follow. Let me know down below what your holy grail skincare products are!
5 Things You Should Know About Me + Blogvember 2016.
As much as love writing and blogging, while getting back into the swing of things at university I’ve let it slide a little bit. It isn’t that I haven’t had any ideas because I’ve got a notebook full of them, but with the amount of writing and reading I have to do on my course, when I have a spare moment to sit down with my laptop, I just can’t bring myself to get stuck in.
So, as a way to try and rectify this, I’ve decided to do Blogvember. I will be posting every other day throughout November, starting today and ending on the 29th. That means I’m going to have to be on the ball to deliver 15 posts that at least makes some sort of sense! I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m hoping that it will help me get back into the swing of blogging. Who knows maybe it’ll even lead to me doing Blogmas, we all know that I can talk about christmas until the cows come home. Now onto the fun bit, here are 5 things I think you should know about me.
1. I hate being late
I absolutely hate being late and hate when other people are late. I just don’t understand how people can happily turn up 15 minutes after an agreed time. I’m one of those people who like to turn up 10 minutes early to everything, and I can’t stand when people end up making you late because they decide to get in the shower 5 minutes before you’re supposed to leave! (Real story – my housemate is particularly good at this, so I now tell him we need to be somewhere half an hour before we actually have to be!)
2. My skincare/makeup routine doesn’t really warrant being called a routine
I have tried, I promise. I’ve have night creams and night oils and face masks and everything else under the sun in the hopes that it’ll somehow get me into some routine but it never does. Honestly, I’m too lazy to have any kind of routine, when I’m tired I literally just fall into bed and go to sleep. Some people spend up to 20 minutes in the morning putting on make-up, applying creams and oils and masks and whatever else and frankly I don’t have time. I barely ever wear make up and I’m lucky if I remember to apply my moisturiser before I leave the house! Plus the time spent applying it all and then taking it off could be spent eating, I know which I’d rather be doing.
3. I love dogs
100% a dog person. Sorry not sorry! Theres just something about dogs that make me happy. My dog at home is the actual sweetest, I miss him an unnatural amount when I’m at university, to the point where I’ve asked my dad numerous times to bring him to visit, for some reason the answer always seems to be no. If you don’t believe how much I miss the dog, I have an actual framed picture of him on my windowsill!!
4. I have particular mugs for different beverages
Okay, so I have a thing where I can only drink certain drinks out of certain mugs, I’m not sure why and I can’t remember exactly when it started. I have a whole shelf at home just for my mugs because I have far too many. For example, I have certain mugs I drink tea and coffee out of, but I also have mugs that I drink fresh juice and milk out of. Is this weird? I’m not sure anymore!
5. I have an unnatural love for christmas
Christmas is by far my favourite time of year. I love the feeling of warmth and cheeriness that is everywhere during this time of year. Not to mention the music and the films that come along with it. And don’t even get me started on all the drinks and candles filled with cinnamon!! It makes me truly happy and I can’t help but smile when I’m somewhere and hear a christmas song. I won’t lie to you, if I were allowed I’d start celebrating in September but apparently that’s too early! But between you and me, I’d watched at least 3 christmas films and had fired up my christmas playlist over a month ago!!