Thursday 26 July 2012

A Bloody Bargain!



First of all, I do apologise about the picture quality here as you probably can't appreciate this little baby in all of it's fineness, but trust me when I say this little beauty is absolutely gorgeous! I popped into town a few days ago to run a few errands and I was buying a birthday present for an older person. I ended up in BHS (British Home Stores) around the jewellery stands when I came across this necklace. My first thoughts were, what on earth is this doing in BHS?! For all of you who aren't familiar with this shop, it sells clothing and home ware for lets say... the older generation. So I was completely gobsmacked when this little beauty popped up, as this is the sort of thing you see in Topshop at the moment! And then of course, the price was the second thing to wow me. Originally this necklace was £18, which is still probably cheaper than what you would pay in the likes of Topshop, but I got it in the sale for £5. Yes, £5!! I know, I still can't believe it now. I love a good bargain and boy did this fulfill my needs for one! There's always a feeling of satisfaction after you find something like this, and I kind of feel I've cheated BHS out of this gorgeous necklace! But hey, I'm not complaining! 



The four tiered gold chains are all different thickness' and patterns and I think this necklace just looks so expensive! I thought it would look great with a LBD on a night out just to bling it up a little. I do love a bit of bling I've got to say and this will definitely be featured in an OOTN soon! All four tiers sit beautifully, and overall I absolutely love this piece. Maybe your BHS has this left still? Go have a peak, you may be surprised what you find in there!!
Lots of Love
xxxx

Friday 20 July 2012

My very simple skin care routine!





I'm very lucky in the fact that my skin is generally quite good. I rarely break out, the skin isn't too sensitive (unlike the rest of my body!) and I don't have that many blemishes. I could take all the credit in the world for this and say I've worked so hard to get good skin, but what's the point of lying... I've generally just been very lucky!! Now that I'm getting older, I do feel it necessary however to have a basic regime that I follow to make sure my skin stays in tip top condition and so here's just a few bits and bobs that I'm currently using.

I would like to say that none of these products are cult products that I would re-purchase again and again. I rarely stick to the same skincare, because when I run out of something I prefer to try something new to get the best out of the market :)! So here we go...

Cleanse
I have two different cleansers, one for the morning and one for the evening. On a morning I use Clean and Clear, morning energy, skin brightening daily facial wash which can be purchased from Boots for £3.99. I have quite dry skin, but for you girls who get oily this is an oil free facial wash. It has little beads in for exfoliating, however these seem to just stay at the bottom and you don't get the full use of them. The smell is very refreshing and quite citrusy so I suppose that's where it gets its name from, however I don't think my skin looked particularly more bright. The strong scent may also put you off if you have quite sensitive skin, because however lovely it smells it is rather strong. I do look for a cleanser which foams up well and this certainly does, and it also has quite a silky feel to it which is lovely on the face. All in all I don't think I will be re-purchasing this again, simply for the reason that there are just so many different cleansers out there ready to be tested!

On an evening I use the Clinique, Rinse off foaming cleanser mousse, hydro-demaquillante. I'm not sure if this is still available in the UK as I couldn't seem to find it online, however for all you lucky Europeans, Sephora in France sells this product for 23,50€. Again, this cleanser foams like an absolute dream and leaves your face feeling pampered and fresh. The scent isn't very strong at all, and I see this product as being very gentle on the skin. It is quite moisturising, however if you're someone with extremely dry skin this may not give you all the moisture that you need. Overall I really enjoy using this cleanser and if you're looking for a mild and gentle wash to cleanse your face with, I think this does the job lovely.

Tone
I do enjoy using a toner in my skincare regime. I feel like it just totally refreshes your face in between cleansing and moisturising, and it's great for getting any extra makeup that may be left on after you've cleansed. At the moment I'm using Garnier, Simply Essentials Soothing vitamin-enriched toner which you can buy from Tesco for around £3. This toner has no perfume, no alcohol and no colourants so is very kind to your skin and claims to be suitable for even sensitive skin. This product really soothes my skin and although it has no perfume it actually smells subtly very nice! It smells very natural and you can kind of feel it tingling on your skin after you've applied it which feels really nice. I think this is a great toner for the price and definitely worth a try!

Moisturise
I haven't been using this moisturiser for very long so this is kind of more of a first impressions on the Nivea, pure & natural soothing day cream for dry to senstive skin.  I would have to say for me, this is the most important step in my skincare routine, because I do get very dry skin especially around my nose area and forehead. Now out of all this things I have talked about to day, there is no doubt about it that this is the nicest smelling product out of them all. Jees I just can't stop smelling it! It has Aragin Oil and Chamomile in and the mix of the two just produces the most healthy scent ever. It's not sweet, but smells very natural and as though it would infact do your skin good! It has no parabens, no silicones, no colourants and no mineral oils, so this product is really working for the good of your skin! There was also the same moisturiser but for normal skin so if you don't need as much hydration that would perhaps be a good choice. For me however, I just wack a load of it on in the attempt not to be dry! Infact sometimes I think to myself, Jees Jordan, you know you're gonna have to calm it a bit on the moisturiser front, you're gonna make your skin oily you put that much on! But I just love it! So first impressions are extremely good for this product and I think I'm definitely going to have to try the night cream from the same range.

Eye Cream
At the moment I'm using up a sample of the Clinique, all about eyes eye serum which can be bought from House of Fraser for £24. This is very thick in consistancy, almost sticky as you're putting it around the eyes. But it certainly keeps your eyes hydrated for a long time after applying it! It claims to reduce the look of puffiness and circles, and whether it actually does this I am not yet convinced. It may soothe the puffiness, but whether it reduces dark circles? I don't think so. Personally I think the only cure for dark circles is more sleep, but if it makes you feel better putting this around your eyes then why not! I think the price is a little steep for the job it does. You can certainly get cheaper products which do just as good-a-job.

Thursday 19 July 2012

Review: Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara

Rimmel Day 2 Night mascara, Boots, £7.99

Now I know I'm a bit late jumping on the band wagon for this one, but finally I caved in and bought Rimmel's Day 2 Night mascara, and you know what ladies? Disappointing isn't even the word!!

I've gone to buy this mascara on a number of occasions now, and each time my friend has warned me away from the product saying that she has tried it and all it did was clump her lashes together. I kind of trusted her because she always has lovely lashes and so didn't buy it, however after running completely out of my Rimmel Lash Accelerator and Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Lashes, I thought what the hell, let's give it a go! So off I sneaked to the shops without this particular friend to sway my views on it, but I have to give her credit and say infact yes, she was 100% right.

I bought mine from Boots for £7.99 and I thought the price was great. If you don't know by now, this mascara has two wands that slot inside of each other (complicated I know). One brush picks up more product creating more volume in your lashes, and the other is a lengthening wand which holds less product.

After applying a first coat of the lengthening side, I didn't have high hopes. Already my lashes weren't as fanned out or lengthened as I expected, but I pursued to the volumising stage to see if it would get any better. How wrong could I have been. In trying to make my lashes 'voluminous', I achieved nothing but stubby, clumpy lashed. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the kinda girl that can't cope with a few clumps in her lashes because quite frankly, I love layering up the mascara to get huge lashes. But this was just a no go, even for me. My lashes weren't in the least voluminous, they all stuck together like a bunch of magnets on my eyelids. 

I really don't get the hype around this product, everyone seems to love it but me?! What are your oppinions on the Day 2 Night mascara? Did you go through the same ordeal as me or was your experience totally different?!
Lots of Love
xxx 

Saturday 14 July 2012

Let's Get Naked!


Not literally, calm down girlies! No I'm talking about the infamous Naked Palette from Urban Decay. Wow, the world and his wife are obsessed with this palette, me included! There are hundreds of blog posts about this amazing palette so this is nothing new, but how could I not write about it? Offering a wide range of neutrals and darker shades, this palette is worth every single penny.

I won't lie, handing over my precious £36 worth of Christmas money was painful, but I have no regrets whatsoever! My oh-so-lovely grandad bought me this as a Christmas present because quite frankly girls, i'm not the kinda person who just has £36 lying around to spend on one beauty purchase. I'm a student! So i thought this was a marvelous opportunity to have a little splurge and just go for it. Was I disappointed? Not one little bit. Like me you may be thinking this product is a little on the pricey side, but look at it this way... You are not only getting 12 beautiful shades (12 eyeshadows from mac at their current price of £12 would cost you a wopping £144), but you're also getting the Urban Decay shadow brush and a mini primer potion. I mean come on ladies, does that not justify the price even a small bit?!

Ubran Decay Naked Palette, Debenhams £36 












So from left to right, here are the colour names: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal. You can get any desired look with this palette, whether it's a very minimalistic neutral eye or a dark smokey eye for the evening, you need no other palette! The shade Buck can also be used on the brows for definition, and both Virgin and Sin are great for a highlight colour. I believe these shades would suit all skin tones and make any colour eyes pop.

I use this palette practically everyday and absolutely adore it like most people who own it. Whether I shall be purchasing the Naked 2 palette I am still unsure of, but for now I am more than satisfied with this product and would urge anyone who is put off by the price to just go for it! I can guarantee you will love it just as much as I do :)!
Lots of Love
xxx



Friday 13 July 2012

Anti-Frizz Miracle!

Ok ladies, I am here today to bring you all a miracle. Do you suffer from frizzy, uncontrollable hair? I for one am prone to this and find it difficult to tame my raging mane. After trying de-frizz product after de-frizz product i thought nothing would help my wild hair until one day I went out and bought the 'Aussie Dual Personality, Anti-Frizz + Conditioning Milk'.

Now don't get me wrong, I have tried several Aussie products and I don't believe all of them do what they claim to, but I am willing to give any anti-frizz product a go! I hadn't heard much about this and wasn't intending on purchasing it, however I am so glad that I did! Pop a 10 pence piece size pump in the palm of your hand and apply it to clean wet hair, then sit back and watch this little baby work its magic! I first noticed how amazing this product was after letting my hair dry naturally after it had been combed through. Usually if I brush out my curls when my hair is wet, I end up with something that quite frankly resembles the look of a birds nest on my head. However this time I noticed that my hair was no-where near as frizzy, and I was left with soft, fluffy waves. It honestly looked like I'd used a waving wand on my hair... unbelievable! The product claims to have a flexible hold, and I couldn't agree more! I could still get volume in the top of my hair and it stayed willingly. My hair was soft to touch and sleek in appearance. A true miracle.

So girls if you're struggling with unruly hair, why not give this a go? I bought mine from Boots for £4.99 but plenty of places sell it, including Tesco, Superdrug, Asda... Could this really be the anti-frizz product to solve all of our problems?
Lots of love
xxx

'Aussie Dual Personality, Anti-Frizz + Conditioning Milk'.Boots- £4.99