Are you Clueless?

I have a real love for Topshop cosmetics ever since they launched so every time I go in there I have to buy at least one item. I usually go for the nail varnishes or the blushers but Ive realised that the cosmetics I leave behind are the best ones for me so Ive made it my (very) late new years resolution to start branching out!

Ive tried lip crayons in the past and Ive never been that fond of them, I had a couple of Barry M ones and they were slightly messy to apply and smudged everywhere. Although I usually leave the lip crayons I fell in love with the colour of this crayon, its called 'Clueless' its a perfect description for its owner (aka me). So after deliberating between the crayon and another nail varnish I decided to push aside my bad thoughts about them and took the plunge. It is the perfect pink shade for me its bright but its also matte so its great for wearing in the day time, especially when the suns out for the short time that its here.

I do have to say It doesn't have the staying power that you get with certain lip products, I know It doesn't advertise that it does but its always great when you don't have to constantly top up. It does need to be reapplied during the day especially after food, but I found once in the morning and then after my lunch break at work was fine. Ive noticed Ive been reaching for it a lot since I bought it, it tends to go with most of my outfits and seems to brighten up my face.

How do you feel about lip crayons? Do you find them messy to apply?

Mondays Outfit

Grey tshirt and Belt - Vintage, Mustard Maxi Skirt - Forever 21 £16.99

Wedges - New Look £29.99

Foundation - Vichy Dermablend in Opal, Concealer - Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer, Powder - MAC Studio Fix in Nc15, Blush - Nars Orgasm, Mascara - Lancome Hypnose Drama in Excessive Black, Lips - Topshop Lipstick Crayon in Clueless

Does anyone else have trouble breaking out of bad habits every time the weather changes? When it turns to summer I really have to push myself to break out of my bad habits, such as no tanning and letting go of my 100 denier tights. Today was finally the day I broke away from my beloved tights and coat and wore something that half resembled a summer wardrobe.

The skirt is from Forever 21 and is the perfect length for me as I'm quite short and most maxi skirts swamp me, also the colour is amazing in the sunshine. I'm also wearing my new every day wedges from New Look, I only bought them last Thursday and I haven't taken them off. They are real leather and just the right height that I can wear all day without crying and limping around work or covering my feet in plasters. Excuse the feet as well they aren't the best and you can tell I haven't started to break out of my winter habit of hiding them yet, or the tanning as I'm still a milk bottle.I will start this week to get into the whole tanning process, it takes me ages to get going but once I get there I wont stop till I'm glowing!

My skin is starting to get better as well due to my Neutrogena spot treatment (I will blog about this) and my new Real Techniques brushes obviously make my makeup look much more flawless now than before. I am also slowly growing to love my Nars blush, I know its a cult favourite but it has taken me a while to love it. Also loving my new Topshop Lip Crayon, I shall be blogging about this in my next post so look out for that review next.

Hope your all having a great time in the sunshine so far?

Beautiful Skin

Ive had a few of the Boots £5 vouchers lately due to my new obsession with the Real Techniques Brushes. I quite often stick them in my bag and forget about them till they are out of date, I decided to finally use one after running out of my favourite Soap and Glory 'Scrub Your Nose In It' exfoliator.

Due to my oily/combination skin I like a slightly more abrasive scrub when I exfoliate, I tend to suffer with a build up of dry skin around my nose and chin that's hard to remove. I also like to scrub at least 3 times a week to help to reduce the build up of dry skin and blemishes, so it also needs to be gentle enough to not make me look like I've got sunburn.

Even though I am a Soap and Glory fan this No7 exfoliator is amazing, I'm completely converted and will be making this a part of my skin care routine from now on. Its got everything a scrub needs its abrasive enough to remove dead skin, doesn't leave any residue and leaves the skin feeling so soft afterwards. Ive only been using it a week so I have reached for this about 3 times and already I'm seeing improvements around my combination Tzone. I would totally recommend this scrub to anyone out there looking for a change or a new product to try. At £8 I think its great but obviously with the No7 vouchers that are pretty much on all year round it only cost me £3 which was a bargain!

Have you tried this scrub did you love it as much as I did? Anybody tried the rest of the 'beautiful skin range?

Real Techniques Powder Brush

So after buying the stippling brush like most I was really impressed with the quality, so I ran back to Boots and bought the Powder Brush. I had read reviews on many blogs saying that the Kabuki brush was great, but for applying powder I like minimum fuss and maximum coverage so the bigger the brush the better. This brush is definitely on the bigger side and its really soft and easy to use.

I have to say yet again I am really impressed again with this brush just like the stippling brush. I used it with my favourite Mac Studio Fix powder and after swirling it in the compact I applied it to my face and the result was great. Its was even all over no patches or excess powder anywhere, it was pretty much flawless and it stayed like that most of the day. I have really oily skin so most powders don't stay anyway but this definitely gave it a good go.

I really would love the buffing brush but I'm not sure I want the rest of the brushes, why cant they do it separate like the others!?

Do you love these brushes as well? I'm also tempted to buy the blush brush has anyone tried this?

Be-Witched

Now unless your one of the extremely lucky ones we all suffer with blemishes, whether its the odd one or constant its probably the worst thing about our skin. My skin never used to break out when I was at school or going through my terrible teens, its only since I've hit my mid 20's that I've started to suffer quite a lot.

Generally my skin isn't that bad that I need an all over treatment, I mainly get them around my chin and cheeks so I need a direct spot zapper that works fast!

Theres millions out there and Ive tried them all from designer to high street, I have to say most of the high street ones are usually better for me. I saw this reviewed on the Boots website and it had quite a good rating, as its less than £4 and pretty easy to pick up I thought why not.

The Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel brand is quite a good one I've used the pore strips before (I know they are bad....) and had good results so I had high expectations for this. It comes in a handy chunky little tube that you twist to bring out the applicator which actually has the look and feel of a gel soap (if you get what I mean?!). It comes with the usual spot treatment tea tree smell and is really easy to apply to the skin.

I have used this over the past few days on the same areas on my face religiously to see just how effective it is. I have to say I am a little disappointed, I got a breakout just as I started to use it and 3 days later its still the same. I have used it after cleansing and I haven't aggravated any of my blemishes, but nothing seems to have changed. I will say it hasn't got worse and I haven't had any other break outs, it just hasn't calmed down or helped to get rid of them. Maybe this is more ideal for the occasional spot and the packaging means its great for popping in your handbag.

Have you tried this before, what did you think? Is there any better ones out there you can recommend?

Scrub Away Those Wednesday Blues

This isn't a new product and I know it may not be an interesting one for some but I have to blog my love for this body scrub. Over the years I have tried pretty much every scrub out there and most don't do it for me. I think its hard to get it just right I usually find the butter/moisturising scrubs leave my skin greasy. Although I have to say my worst annoyance are the ones out there that say scrub but when you actually use them there isn't a single grain in them!

I saw this product a couple of years ago when I went through a serious tanning phase, tried it once and fell in love immediately. Its quite a rough grainy scrub that lathers slightly instead of adding extra moisture, which leaves my skin really clean and smooth. It helps to get rid of any bumps and dry patches really easily without drying out the skin, and it smells good too. 

The only downside to this Garnier scrub is the price, for a 200ml its slightly on the pricey side of the chemist brand at around £7.50 (depending on which chemist you go to). Most of the time though I find it will be on a special offer some where and that's when I usually buy in bulk.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone out there who takes a rougher approach to scrubbing their skin. I find it really helps to buff away those terrible tanning mistakes we all get, mine are always around my feet!

Do you have love for this scrub? Is there another one out there that could turn me?  

Loving the Hype

So after months of trying not to buy into the hype I've done it again and caved, and I'm so glad i did. I love this stippling brush, I wont got into detail as I know you have all heard about this a million times. It makes my foundation go on so easily and smooth with no patches, and It helps to blend the lines you can get from cream blushes. I have seen so many posts about the buffing brush, after trying this I'm impressed so I definitely want to try it. The only problem is a lot of people are saying the 'Core Collection' is a bit of a waste as most only use the buffing brush.

Is this something that you are also experiencing or should I take the plunge and buy the set??

Glossy Box Review 2 Inika Eyeliner

So I was happily surprised when I received this in my Glossy Box, I'm usually a black liquid liner kind of girl but this makes a nice change. Having it free of nasties and knowing its organic and environmentally friendly makes it even better. I tried this pretty much straight away and I applied it with my every day brown Mac shadows and lined my eyes as normal. I really liked the dark brown colour and it went on really easily, the pencil is soft but not too soft that it cakes.

The downside to this product isn't the eyeliner itself its me, my oily skin hates pencil liners I only have to wear it for a couple of hours and I look like I've been punched! Ive tried all sorts to stop this from happening but my skin takes no prisoners and this did not win it over. I have to say though If I could wear this daily I would I think its a good product, it glides on well and I loved the brown shade. I did see on a few other blogs that people received brighter colours, what did you think?

Blushing Beauty Addict

Ive always been a powder blush girl from the minute I started wearing makeup (which was too long ago), Ive never even looked at cream or liquid blushes as for someone with oily skin I thought it was pointless. Obviously after all these years and reading many great blog posts I now know Im wrong, Ive realised that actually they are better for my skin!

I always used powders because I thought creams would run and make my oily skin worse, the problem with this is that although I love powder blushes they always disappear on my skin. Ive tried every blush going and have lately bought into the hype and have been using Nars 'Orgasm', but even that failed to impress me. Being pale my blusher should stand out but after a couple of hours I find I need to reapply and we all know building up more makeup on oily skin only leads to disaster.

So here I am having just purchased my first ever cream blush, Im excited to try it but Im also nervous as I know you can get it so wrong. I decided to go for a Topshop blush in 'Neon Rose' after trying it on my hand I loved the texture, the colour comes up quite coral on the picture but on the skin its actually more of a pink tone. At only £6 I think this is a bargain for a first timer, also the packaging is really cute and ideal for shoving in your handbag its small and comes with a compact mirror.

I am weary of the 'garden gnome' syndrome so I have been researching the best ways on how to apply (I know I will leave the house only to regret it when I catch my reflection). After many blog posts and some good advice from fellow blogger Lipstickedlouise, Im going to try it with a stipple brush. Hopefully this will convert me to another great product and probably start a while new makeup obsession. I dont know about you but once I get hooked on a product type I feel like I have to go out and buy one from every single brand!

I will be trying this over the weekend and blogging about my results, Im going to a gig on sunday so It will get the ultimate 'sweat test'. How do you feel about cream blushes? Are they as good for oily skin as they say?

Glossy Box Ayuuri Body Wash

The first thing I tried from my April Glossy Box was the Ayuuri Body Wash, I'm more of a soap girl to be honest so normally I give them to my friends. As this was a natural made body wash I thought I would give it a go, I thought I may be converted as it would hopefully not be full of the nasties you get in some.

My skin is very sensitive to most body washes but this didn't aggravate it one bit, it left my skin soft and clean without being too harsh or leaving a greasy feeling.I have to say the fragrance I got was Sandalwood and although it was a nice smell its not quite for me, its a bit of an old fashioned scent.

 If your big on natural, non animal tested products like most of us probably are I don't think its bad value for money, Its £4.95 which isn't bad considering some body washes I have received have been well into the £15 mark. I wouldn't spend that much on a body product unless it was specifically designed for treating a problem skin, so I think £4.95 is ok as you don't need much. Don't get me wrong I know there are so many out there a lot cheaper, but can you say they are all against animal testing or organic?

What did you think of this product? Did you receive a different fragrance?

My April Glossy Box

So I know I'm a few days late on the Glossy Box but I saw so many blog posts about it I thought I would wait a couple of days before I share mine. As you can see I think I pretty much received the same as most, I have to say I was really impressed with this box I loved the full size's and the fact that it was an organic box. I have taken a real interest in organic and natural products lately, not only are they good for the environment but as they are natural surely they are equally as good for your skin?

So many products these days are full of things that temporarily may work and show good results but in the long term are they really good? I'm not sure but I have used a lot of harsh products due to my oily skin, I think years of using them has really damaged my skin. I have patchy, uneven, dehydrated skin and I'm sure that's down to stripping my skin of its natural oils and goodness.

For the next few days from tomorrow I will start reviewing each of the items I received separately, I would also love to hear how you got on with these natural products and if you would purchase them?