Skincare haul

Hello! I've had my No7 skincare bits now since early May, it was almost to the end of it's life and I haven't had any problems with it so I thought well I may as well just repurchase! So I popped down to Boots and the skincare was back on 3 for 2, as well as all makeup half price!! I stopped myself indulging in that though - gotta save the pennies!!

I definitely wanted to buy the moisturiser again and cleanser but I didn't really need another exfoliator/face mask as I think there's probably still a good bit left in it. I was totally stuck!! And then I started second guessing whether to buy the foaming cleanser again or to go for the cleansing water. Decisions. 

I decided in the end to buy the cleansing water because I felt it was a tad annoying to have to go through the effort of washing my face when I just wanted to remove my makeup. The cleansing water is so much easier and quicker, just pop some on a cotton pad and wipe! Easy.

So for my 3rd item I went for the Overnight Radiance Boost. When I initially went to the No7 stand the lady put some of this on my hand but I wasn't won over yet. I thought this sounded like a good product to try as I sometimes feel my face is very dull and I'd like to be able to go more makeup free and feel like my skin is, well radiant!

I also picked up an eye makeup remover. I actually bought this for the first time about a month ago and I have fell in love. It's so soft on the delicate eye area and removes makeup so easily! I don't know why I never thought to buy one before. And it's only £2.99!

Have you gone a a bit skincare crazy lately? Always like to read your comments! x

Festival beauty essentials

Creamfields

I'm off to Creamfields next weekend and so I wanted to ask you what things you think I should take. If you've been to any festivals so far this year, or last year, what did you take?

I'm planning on tanning before I go so then I can wear minimal makeup - I'm not going to exactly have a big mirror to sit in front of to get ready!. So I'm thinking of taking my L'Oreal BB Cream, mascara, concealer and bronzer and/or blusher. I bought a new tube of Smashbox Primer this week and received a lovely sample which I can now take with me without the worry of losing a full tube! 

What else would you take? Any top tips for keeping yourself beautiful in a field? I should add that we don't have hospitality so no showers! Ahh!

Also, are any of you going to be there? :) I can't wait!

Skincare routine #2

Hiya! So in my last post on skincare, here, I said I was going to do a separate post on one of the items I picked up when finally being a grown up and getting a 'proper' skincare routine. It is No7's Beautiful Skin Purifying Mask - also known as purifying exfoliator on their website.

I bought this because it was a 3 for 2 so I thought I may as well have something else, but also because I like the feeling of my skin having a proper good scrub and it's good to do so isn't it? The counter lady said it was her favourite out the of Beautiful Skin care range and I liked the fact it could be used as a mask or just an exfolitor. What she didn't tell me, and what was a very pleasant surprise was that it heats on contact with your skin! I've never felt this before from a product and I really like it when I use it, it makes me think it's actually doing something.

To use this I wet my face, but make sure it's not dripping wet, then rub in circular motions into my face, leaving it for about 2-5 minutes. (however long it takes me to do my next shower task!) This mask/exfoliator is AMAZING. Yes, I've used capitals to express just how much I really like it! It leaves my skins so clear and smoothe looking, it makes me not want to put any makeup on as I know as soon as I do the feeling will be gone. I use it approximately twice a week, always in the mornings but there is a downside to it...

It leaves residue all over my face - even after spending minutes washing my face. Urgh, I get out the shower and can see white mostly on my chin, my forehead by my eyebrows and sometimes on my nose. I just don't get it? I don't think I put too much on and I try not get it anywhere near my eyebrows as it sticks in the hair and is hard to remove but it still happens. This is the one thing I really dislike, but the way it leaves my skin keeps me coming back.

Do you use this product or one similar? Do you have any advise to get rid of the left over bits?! Leave me a comment :)

Urban Decay Naked 2

Courtesy of Urban Decay

So many of you will have read tons of posts on this palette by Urban Decay and whilst I took a trip into town Sunday I thought I'd check out the counter and see what the fuss is about.

I went in for my Smashbox Primer which, I am devastated to say, can no longer be bought in Debenhams *waa*. Apparently they've pulled out the UK but you can still purchase online with Boots, so not all bad!

Anywho, I said I never wear eyeshadow because, quite frankly, I just can't do it! I asked for something for the daytime in neutral colours and after showing me Naked and Naked 2 I opted for 2 as it had more nudes to it. This was the first time I had had eyeshadow done on me at a beauty counter, I've had my face makeup done before but never the eyes, I feel like they are such a prominent part of your face that you kind of know what you like. It was going well, I think she used Bootycall or Half Baked over the lids and then used YDK and Busted to create the smokey eyed look. Even after the first shade I felt like my eyes looked much more wide awake and stood out much more than usual. I saw the completed look and wasn't really sure how to react, I think because I'm not used to it I just didn't know if it was me! And, there was quite a lot of 'excess' eyeshadow left all under my eyes!! Not a good look and put me off if I'm honest. I looked like I had really bad bags and I couldnt' do anything about it!  Don't think I'll be doing this again.

It hasn't put me off the palette though, but £36 is pretty pricey for a few shades. What are your thoughts? Do you know of any dupes out there?  Are you lusting after it? I may keep it on my wish list for a while longer and hope it turns up on my Birthday :)

Skincare routine #1

Hello guys, sorry I have been quiet for a while I'm having a hard time adjusting to working life and literally just want to come home and get under the duvet again! I'm sure my life will restore itself at some point (I hope) but in the meantime I hope you enjoy my posts!

I have been wanting to post about my skincare routine for what feels like forever now. If you've read one of my latest posts here then you will know that I have never really had a 'proper', what I'd like to call grown up, skincare routine. I would just take my makeup off with a wipe and then wash my face in the mornings with some kind of face wash. Some I used to get along with fine but others I felt like they did absolutely nothing and it's probably true that your skin does get used to it so then when you don't use it it has a little freak out!

So, I went into Boots and to No7 to try and get my skin looking good and purchased the new No7 Beautiful Skin range for normal - oily skin. There were so many products on offer I could have chosen but I went for the foaming cleanser, the day cream and a face mask which I will do a separate post on - hopefully soon!

I do have more pictures but for some reason Blogger is rotating them - anyone know why?

I quite like the idea of using water in my routine so opted for the foaming cleanser. This can be a bit awkward if I'm removing makeup without getting in the shower but hey! I lightly wet my face, which does feel a little odd when I've got a full face of makeup, and then push down on the nozzle which brings out a really light foam. I would use 1 and a half to two pumps of this to for my face which I massage on leaving me looking a little bit like santa clause! I really like this though for one of the first foaming cleansers I've tried. It leaves my skin feeling really clean and fresh, much more so than when I used to just use a wipe or face wash! It amazes me how the concoction actually removes makeup! I have been using this morning and evening at the moment and have just under 1/4 left after 3 months so not too bad! I would like to incorporate something like the Bioderma in the mornings though to mix things up a bit!

My usual moisturiser was Simple's Light Hydrating Moisturiser which I used to slather all over my face. The lady at the No7 counter told me to just put moisturiser on the outer edges of my face for my skin to really benefit and not get too greasy and shiny during the day. So I have been trying this out, with some luck but I still do tend to rub into more of my face than I probably should! It has SPF15 plus 5 stars against UVA rays which is pretty good for a moisturiser! It is very light and the packaging makes me feel much more grown up hehe.

I'm not sure if I've seen much difference in terms of oily-ness but my skin feels much better using these products and because they take a little longer to use than my old bits and bobs it makes me use them rather than being lazy with my face and regretting it!

What products are you using at the moment? Anything you would recommend to introduce?