Desk-side beauty

When it comes to work I'm very low maintenance. Working in a small office with little interaction with the outside world except the odd dash to the supermarket at lunch, has meant that make-up and hair is left in its natural state in favour of sleep. However there are some beauty items that a gal (I don't think I'm cool enough to use that word) just needs to have with her. Here I present to you my desk-side beauty.

First up I have a hair clip which I got from Boots. On the odd day I wear my hair down, I find it just annoys me, so end up clipping it up. Perfect when you tend to spend a lot of the day with your head down typing. Also hair related I like to keep a little pocket brush (handy mirror there too) to give my hair a bit of a spruce up, which it often needs. Finally if I really should've washed my hair the night before, or on the off chance I'm going out after work I like to keep some dry shampoo handy, just in case.

For me, a broken nail is the most annoying thing. As someone who used to bite their nails seeing the start of a broken nail is just too tempting, so I like to file it down before I create some real damage. I also find that sometimes I don't realise my nails are a bit too long until I'm trying to type and file them down a little. Also in the name of hand care I love this Garnier hand cream and tend to use it daily. Washing up my cups and dishes can leave my hands feeling dry, especially in the winter weather and this is great at making them feel softer.

Finally to keep chapped lips at bay I like to keep a lip balm with me. This Nivea one has little colour but serious moisture, making it the perfect desk-side beauty item. It's great to slap on without a mirror and really works at nourishing my lips as I work.

What are your desk side beauty picks?

Laura xoxo

Moisturiser

I've recently been trying out two new moisturisers, one for morning, one for evening. I've been using them for the past two weeks, and would now like to share them with you, (aren't I kind?)

First off, the morning one. This comes from Nivea Visage and is called Natural Beauty Radiance Boosting Moisturiser and is meant to brighten the skin, leaving it looking radiant.

This moisturiser is a light to medium one, it doesn't feel heavy on the skin, and is quite light to apply. It has tiny little shimmery particles in it, which you can't see when it is on the skin. It could be used on its own and a day you don't want to wear any foundation, however it doesn't give any coverage. I like this moisturiser, but don't think I will be re-purchasing it, mainly as I don't find it does anything for me really, but this is a perfectly ok, moistriser to use.

For night time I use a Garnier moisturiser called Garnier Skin Naturals Youthful Radiance. I've thrown the box away so not 100% what it states it will do. My guess is rejuvenate your skin overnight?

 I love using this moisturiser. It leaves a nice heavy feel on my face, but in a good way, and I kind still feel the remains of it in the morning, which I really like. It is quite a thick consistency and blends into the skin really easily. It has a lovely fresh, almost cucumbery smell, and I will definitely be re-purchasing this.




I hope you found these reviews useful. Have you tried either of these?
What day-time moisturiser would you recommend?

Laura xoxo



Morning Skincare Routine

So last week I showed you my evening skincare routine, so now it's the turn of the morning skin care routine. Now I am quite a morning person, in the sense that this is when I have the most 'get up and go' and feel the most alert. However I wouldn't try and have a conversation with me at that time, as I'm not a cheerful morning person.

When I wake up I usually look, well, a mess. I look dull and tired which isn't the best look to be honest. So what I like to do is use products that wake and brighten up my skin.

Now I never really used to take much care in the morning, a spot of moisturiser, a dash of make-up then I was done. I now have an actual routine, go me!

Clean and Clear Morning Energy Face Wash: This is the first thing I use in the morning. It smell gorgeous and brightens up my skin. It lathers up quite well, and is just a nice simple face wash that wakes you up in the morning. My skin feels nice and fresh afterwards, and did I mention it smells amazing?

Clean and Clear Shine Control: I use this lotion with a cotton wool ball after I've washed my face to ensure that all unwanted oil is removed and my skin does stay shine free throughout the day.

 Nivea Visage Radiance Boosting Moisturiser: I haven't been using this moisturiser for that long, but plan to do a review on it soon so look out for that. But I just put this on after my shine control and it works as a base before my make-up.

Good Things Eye Cream: I use this after my Nivea moisturiser as I suffer from really bad dark circles and like to know that I won't get puffy dark eyes throughout the day. If you are wearing make-up be sure to powder around the eyes as it does aid creasing.

Lush Lip Scrub and Carmex: It is best to use the scrub before moisturiser as the sugar can stick to your skin. I love this scrub though, it really does leave you with smooth lips. I like to apply Carmex/lip balm before I put on my make-up so it can sink in a bit before I put on any lipstick.

I should also say that if I have any large spots than I will put a bit of my Origins Super Spot treatment on it before my make-up, but only a tiny drop as it does go slightly crusty if too much is applied, which isn't attractive, trust me.

So it's not the most complex routine, but I think it has really helped my skin and helps my make-up apply better and stay on better. It is also a good way to freshen up in the morning.

What's you morning skin care routine? Do you have one?

Laura xoxo

Evening Skin Care Routine

I'm not going to lie, for a very long time all I used to do was get a make-up wipe, rub it over my face and then say that my make-up was off. I have since learnt, thank you massive breakouts for bringing it to my attention, that it is really not enough. So, I thought I'd do a little evening skin care routine post to show you what I use, and the methods I take in the evening to make-sure I got to bed nice and fresh faced.

First off that I should say that the routine I follow is one that I now stick too, the products I use, however, are interchangeable and just the products I'm using at the moment.

Nivea, Daily Essentials, Eye Make-up Remover: I like this eye make-up remover, it does the job and doesn't sting my eyes. I will say though, if I've been on a night out and have lots of eye make-up on, or if I have waterproof mascara on I use baby oil before this. Now I like to take my eye make-up off first because I read somewhere that it is better to do this so that the mascara doesn't run all round your face, and your face will be cleaner.

Face Wipes: At the moment I'm using an Asda's own face wipe. This is mainly because they're cheap and I don't see the point in splashing lots of cash on something that will be on my face for a matter of seconds. So yeah, after I've used my eye make-up remover I then take the rest of my make-up off using this.

Face Wash: At the moment I'm using a Clearasil face wash, which I like. It foams up nicely and leaves my skin feeling nice and fresh. I do this to definitely make sure that any trace of make-up is removed from my face.
Every other day I like to use my Garnier Brush Exfoliater to make sure I'm getting rid of all the dead skin cells and giving my skin a deep cleanse.

Cleanser: I'm still using my No7 Foaming Facial Cleanser which I mentioned in my January favourites, and I still love it. It really cleans my face and leaves it feeling, clean, soft and dewy which I really like.

Toner: I simple just go over my face with this Simple Toner, just because I feel like I'm supposed to (cleanse, tone and moisturise after all.) I can't tell you what it does, but I can tell you it makes  my feel happy so that is why I use it. (Gosh this is going to be such a helpful post!)

Spot Treatment: Again, I am still a massive fan of the Origins Spot Treatment. It really works at reducing spot size, and you can feel it working. I like to apply this to any breakouts I have, or feel like are appearing.

Eye Treatment: I have been using this for ages and it still hasn't run out. It is the Garnier Roll On. It does a really good job as I have naturally dark shadows under my eyes and it really helps keep them under control.

Moisturiser:I like to finish off with a good moisturiser that I like to feel still is working when I wake up in the morning. I only got this Garnier Night Cream in the week, so I'm thinking of doing a full review on it later in the week, but at the moment, I've got to say, I'm loving it.

So there you go, my evening skin care routine. I'm sorry it's not that helpful or scientific, but I know I like reading these types of posts because it gives me an insight into the products people use and how they use them.

What are your favourite products?

Laura xoxo