Natural Exfoliating Moisturising Face Mask!

This mask/scrub will leave skin feeling smooth, hydrated and looking fresher. 

You will need:


1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon of Milk 


1: Put all ingredients into a small bowl and mix. It should form a slightly runny paste 
2: Using your fingers scoop some of the mixture and start massaging it into the skin 
3: Once your face is covered and exfoliated leave for 10-15 minutes and relax!
4: Wash off using warm water and follow by using your favourite cleanser to get rid of any oil.


Benefits:

Olive oil is full of vitamin E and vitamin A. Vitamin E gives you a youthful appearance by slowing aging. Vitamin A is what gives skin a healthy, natural glow. Olive oil is also filled with antioxidants to fight aging.

Honey is known to kill bacteria and germs on the skin, and it also reduces inflammation and swelling, giving the face a taut and youthful appearance.

The lactic acid in milk soothes and softens dry, itchy skin. Milk will help moisturize, while at the same time tightening wrinkles and refining pores. There is a reason Cleopatra bathed in milk! 

Ins and Outs!

Ins:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation
I am in love with this foundation, it looks so natural and it is pale enough for my ghost like skin!

Cream Blushes

Couldn't resist!

Lately I have been going for the no-makeup makeup look and cream blushes look so natural and your skin doesn't look powdered. Some favourites have been the Topshop cream blush in Hi 5 and Max Factors Miracle Touch Blush

Gosh Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink
This eyeliner is so creamy and soft but stays on your eye all day and as it is waterproof it does not budge! It is also good for creating a quick soft smokey eye.

Vampire Diaries
I am absolutely in love with this show, the plot so far this season has been amazing especially all the extra Damon (yum :3 ). It's not predictable at all which makes it really enjoyable to watch. I am just so annoyed it's on a midseason break until January!

Outs:

Random weather
The weather in England has been so annoying, one day it will be really cold the next warm. Sometimes it will start off warm then get really cold throughout the day. I never know what to wear. Can it please snow now so I can bring out all my gloves and scarfs?!

Gossip Girl
I loved the first few seasons of gossip girl, I have them on DVD and have re-watched seasons 1-3 over and over, but the past few especially the season on at the moment just aren't living up to the others. I don't like the new characters, the story-line is a bit boring and about characters I don't care about. Bring back Chair!

Mini Haul + Mini Reviews!

Going in and out of the department stores in London I kept seeing the MAC and Urban Decay counters calling to me so I decided to splurge on two items I have wanted for a while now, a MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study and the Naked Palette and I have no regrets!

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study
The paint pot is so smooth and can be used as a base for eye shadow, an eye shadow on its own, a highlighter or put it anywhere you need a bit of shimmer. I was torn between this and Morning Frost from the Glitter and Ice collection but figured that bare study is a bit more versatile.

Urban Decay Naked Palette
I wasn't sure whether to get the Naked Palette as I typically don't wear much eye shadow day to day but that has now changed! The eye shadows are so velvety and creamy and perfect for me as you can create such a pretty neutral eye so isn't such a shock for the system for someone who doesn't really wear eye shadow. The browns also really make my blue eyes pop which I love.

No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser
I have been wanting Liz Earle's cleanse and polish for ages and was going to buy it but then I got a £5 No 7 voucher and decided to try their version in the mean time. I have been using it for about a week now and it's okay. I'm not acne prone but do get my fair share of spots and this has cleared up most of them and the ones that I do get are not as big but my face has been feeling a bit oilier than usual.
The cloth that it comes with is pretty poor and gets cold very quickly so you have to re-damp(?) it 2 or 3 times so I am going to buy some more from mothercare or something.
Overall this is no HG product but does the job okay, and it is nice to do, it feels like a mini facial. I'm going to use it up then probably get the Liz Earle one. I would say try it if you get a £5 voucher but I wouldn't buy it for £10. I do like the packaging though, it feels very expensive ^_^

Free Nails Inc Polish with £2 Glamour!

Buy the December issue of Glamour (the one with Kristen Stewart on the front) and choose from 1 of 4 free Nails Inc polishes RRP £11!

Colours available are:

Victoria: A dark red
Tate: Quite a bright, vibrant red
Basil Street: A muted beige.
Piccadilly Circus: A bright fuchsia.

I only have Victoria at the moment but will have to go back tomorrow to get the other three colours (even if I do look a bit weird buying 3 of the same magazine!) but I just can't pass on this amazing price!

Not so Separating High Definition Separating Mascara from NYC

From the website:

•    Precision Lash Technology provides the ultimate combination: Up to 60% more length and up to 70% more lift
• High-precision plastic brush separates and defines without clumping 360° wide open-eye look, instantly
• Duo Play Complex with Panthenol and vitamin E strengthens and adds suppleness to your lashes
•  Flake-proof, smudge-proof, all-day flawless look guaranteed
• Ophthalmologist tested
• Suitable for sensitive eyes and lens wearers

I brought this on a bit of a spur of the moment whilst doing some online shopping as it was only £2.99. We all know NYC can be a bit of a hit and miss with the quality of their products and am afraid that this was a miss for me.

Firstly I really didn’t like the wand, its mixture of short and long plastic bristles made it quite painful to apply near the roots of the lashes. They are also very hard and have no flexibility and when you take the mascara wand out there is always a long string of product on the end of the wand, and far too much product on it.

I find it doesn’t distribute the product very evenly across the lashes so you have to apply a few coats but then it gets all clumpy and causes the lashes to stick together. You can’t win. The formula is also very wet so if I blink too soon after I get it all over the top and bottom of my eye. Throughout the day the product gets very dry and flaky and I get little bits of mascara flaking onto my face. One thing though is that it doesn’t smudge so at least you won’t end up with the dreaded panda eyes.

Now lets look at how the mascara lives up to its claims:

Precision Lash Technology provides the ultimate combination: Up to 60% more length and up to 70% more lift

This did look like it was making my lashes look longer but, it made them very droopy and not lifted at all.

High-precision plastic brush separates and defines without clumping 360° wide open-eye look, instantly

The brush was really quite bad, and this was one of the most clumpy mascaras I've tried recently. 

Duo Play Complex with Panthenol and vitamin E strengthens and adds suppleness to your lashes

I haven't seen any dramatic improvement in the condition of my lashes but the vitamins can't hurt.

Flake-proof, smudge-proof, all-day flawless look guaranteed

It wasn't flake-proof but is smudge proof, I'll give them that. 

After looking at other reviews on this mascara I my viewpoint is in the minority and most people seem to absolutely love it so maybe it is just me and my lashes.

Without Mascara

One Coat

Two Coats

Rating: 3/10

Reccomend: No

Avaliable from www.superdrug.com

Yay for Essie.

What Essie claims:  

“With a belief that nail polish needs to be both ‘classic yet fashionable’, Essie Weingarten set about producing durable, high quality nail colours with a fashion focus; seeking inspiration from the catwalk for her seasonal shades. Offering a colour collection of over 300 glossy hues, Essie now includes a range of base and mattifying top coats”

I had wanted this nail polish for so long, so when there was a sale on ASOS I snapped up 2 along with a few Barry M polishes to add to my collection. The colours I got were absolutely shore and splash of grenadine and I am in love with them and here’s why:

• ·         They apply beautifully
• ·         They dry to a lovely smooth glossy finish.
• ·         They are reasonably chip proof.
• ·         The bottle is so chic and the thick glass makes it feel expensive and luxurious.

My only peeve is that they are not as pigmented as I would like, you need at least 2 coats for the colour to truly show up, especially absolutely shore which is quite sheer with only one coat.

Essie nail polishes claim to be chip resistant, long lasting and durable whilst also being fashionable but classic and I agree with this completely and think that they have become my new favourite nail polishes and I may have to splurge on a few more autumn friendly colours.

Pros

• Chip Resistant
• Glossy finish
• Nice bottle
• Easy to apply
• Hundreds of colours to choose from. 

Cons

• Have to apply at least 2 coats

Splash of Grenadine with 2 coats, after 4 days with no top coat. 

Overall Rating: 8/10

Recommend: Yes

Available from www.asos.com

The Body Shop Haul + Review

Hey everyone, I thought I would take advantage of their £20 off £40 offer and snapped myself up some skincare products.

Tea tree oil facial blotting tissues

Tea tree oil

I just like to put these in my bag for those moments when your skin is feeling a bit oily.

I put a few drops of this in my bath as I have found it is too oily to put straight on my skin. It is also a good natural anti septic. 

Tea tree blackhead exfoliating wash

I will be using this twice a week. So far after using this my skin feels very smooth, I haven't really seen an improvement in my blackheads though. 

Tea tree foaming cleanser

Carrot moisture cream

Seaweed mattifying day cream

I  am really liking this. It is very gentle on my skin and leaves it feeling refreshed and clean.

I have found that this makes my T-zone extremely oily so now just use it on my cheeks as they can get dry. I think for dry skin this would be very moisturizing. It doesn't smell like carrots either. 

I am really liking this compared to the carrot moisturizer. It does leave my skin  matt but not dry and it really fights the oil. 

Rainforest moisture hair butter

I haven't got round to using this yet but it smells amazing!

Tea tree toner

The first time I used this it felt like it was burning my face a bit and was a bit wary of using it again but now it feels absolutely fine. It does claim to get mattify the skin but I'm not really seeing this. 

Overall, I have been using the skin care products for about a week now and have definatly seen an improvement. I'm not sure which product is doing it but my skin usually has a lot of redness to it and this seems to be fading.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2in1 Face Wash Mask

Lately I have been obsessed with trying to find the perfect face care routine and this has been one of my favourites so far.

"The 2in1 mask can be used both as an every day facial cleansing wash to remove dirt and oil build up and prevent blemishes or as a weekly mask for deep down cleansing action."

I have been using this face wash for a about a month now and have noticed a considerable different in my skin. It feels more hydrated and most of my spots have cleared up. I haven't noticed any improvements to my blackheads though and notice if I forget to use it even once I break out immediately. It is a white, thick clay-like consistency and you don't need very much to wash your whole face.

As a mask I find that you have to use quite a lot of the product to cover your whole face but it does leave my skin feeling soft, refreshed and very clean.

I like to use this as a face wash at least every night and most mornings. It leaves my skin feeling refreshed and hydrated and in the morning makes me feel very awake.

The one thing that dissapoints me is how messy it is to use as it is quite hard to wash off. Especially at night when I am tired, I usually end up with it all over my hair so I tend to try and use it in the shower where it doesn't matter how messy I get.

Overall rating: 8/10