Five in Five #1

I've finally come to the realisation that I have far too much make-up, and due to this I've decided I should really stop buying anymore. Which is great for my bank balance, but not so great when trying to think of new and creative ideas for a blog that's main focus is beauty. There are only so many times I can tell you about my favourite products, however I thought I'd start a series where I show you five products, and challenge myself to describe them in five words.

Ready, set, go!

Nars Multiple in South Beach - Glowy, sunkissed, Millie Mack cheekbones.

Real Techniques Contour Brush - Brush with hundreds of uses.

Dior Skin Nude BB Creme - Best thing since sliced bread.

Benefits Hervana Blush - Smells good enough to eat.

No7 BB Lips - Everyday esstential item must have.

Laura

The best of... Lipsticks

This year, for me at least, has been the year of the lipsticks. I couldn't get enough of the stuff. Formerly the women addicted to eyes, I'm now all about the lips.

 So, as the year's coming to a close (can you say Christmas?!?) I thought I'd do a round up of all the lip products I've been loving. 

Favourite high end: YSL Rouge Volupte in 13

Favourite high street: Rimmel Moisture Renew in Notting Hill Nude

Favourite matte: MAC Ruby Woo/Rimmel Kate Matte 101

Favourite bold: Rimmel Appocalips in Stellar

Favourite liquid: Loreal Extrodinare 101 Rose Melody

Favourite brand: Rimmel Moisutre Renew

Comfiest: No7 BB Lips

Most used: No7 BB Lips

What have been your favourites this year?

Laura

Giving Your Nails Some TLC

I love having freshly painted nails. Something about it makes me feel all special and girly. I hate, however, chipped nails and having to re-do them. That is just not fun. But I'm also a fussy one who doesn't like not having anything on my nails. I know, I'm never happy. However, lately I've found a little routine, mainly for Sunday, that leaves my nails looking and feeling healthy for the week ahead. Hurrah!

I begin my giving my nails a file with that round looking nail file you can see here. I like to do this whilst I still have the old polish on as my nails are stronger then and not weakened by nail varnish remover or water. Once I'm happy with the shape I then take my nail varnish remover and get rid of the polish that's left from the previous week.

Next up I take my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover to get rid of any overgrown cuticles and help me push them back a bit. Once they're all pushed back I grab my No7 Revitalising Hand Saviour and give my hand a good scrub and refresh. I bloody love this stuff!!!

Nails and hands all fresh and washed, I take this second nail file and give my nails a bit of a buff and shine. Then it's down to painting. I find that something strengthening such as the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails is a good base coat when you're trying to rescue your nails. Finally, to make them look a bit more polished I grab Essie's Mademoiselle polish to go over the top. I find this colour is almost like a BB Cream for your nails if you like. Love it.

What do you do to treat your nails?

Laura xoxo

Review: No7 Beautiful Skin Dry Skin Rescue

Whilst my skin has always leaned towards the oiler side of things, recently it's becoming much more dry. What I didn't know was that my skin was actually dehydrated, and for a long time I was making it drier, and consequently more oily, my stripping my skin of natural oils that it needed. 

Over the past six months to a year I've really gotten a handle on my skin care and I've stopped stripping it of things it needs and tried my best to feed it with the nourishment it does need. 

Whilst my skin is looking a lot better and I've begun adding hydration and nourishment to my regime, the sides of my face are still quite dry and I feel my skin losing her moisture I put on in the morning by the afternoon. So on a perusal of the Boots near work I picked up this little guy.

I like to use this as almost a serum, working it onto my dry patches in the morning and evening before moisturiser, and even in the day if I feel my skin getting dry.

I do feel that it adds moisture to my skin, and I am seeing a slight improvement, but I think I could find better out there. It's not a bad product, but I do think it lacks the lock-in factor that I feel many products have.

So now my quest for hydrating skincare begins. Do you have any recommendations?

Do you have this? What do you think?

Laura xoxo

FOTD: Let It Glow

Another Frozen reference, I know. Sorry for not being sorry; it just fit so well. For someone who was always scared she looked really shiny and believed a face full of powder was the best way to hide everything and keep things hidden all day, over the last year I've defintiely gravitated toward a glowly look.

To get the base off to the right start I began with the Bourjois Happy Light primer to get my skin all ready for my base which here is the Bourjois CC Cream as I wanted to give it a test, but to be honest, though it's more expensive I much prefer the Dior BB Cream, it lasts better throughout the day and adds an extra glow.

Before powdering with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, which is the peferfect powder to set make-up but leave you with a glow, I worked in my Jemma Kid Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Cream which is sadly discountined but I say pick up Topshops Glow Cream Highlighter for the same effect. Once that is worked in with the base I like to apply my cream blush, which just so happened to be my Nars Multiple in Portofino.

Eyes and lips I kept quite simple. Eyes was a MAC staple Naked Lunch which deposits a slight colour with a nice shimmer to boot and lips was a your lips but nicer/better colour from No7 BB Lips in Coral Rush.

What are your glowy skin staples?

Laura xoxo

Let's Talk Lips

A used to be an eyeshadow girl, then a blush girl, and lately I'm all about lips. I can't get enough of all the different formula's, colours and brands. I think the lipstick you choose to wear definitely changes the whole look of you make-up, so it's an important step.

The comfort one: When I'm in a rush, or just want something comfortable to wear I always reach for my No7 BB Lips. The formula is glossy without being sticky and is nice and moisturising on the lips. It also contains SPF too which makes it perfect for summer (shall it ever arrive!)

The Tube Stick: Crayon style lipsticks are definitely a trend that isn't dying down. I'm glad about that as I think they're really handy (as long as they're twist top rather than sharpen!) Of all the ones I've tried I must say the Bourjois Colour Booster's are my favourites. Perfect pigmentation, feels nice and the lips and the longest lasting too.

The Moisturising one: As far as moisturising formula's go, the Moisture Renew Range by Rimmel are my favourite. The have the proper pigmentation of a lipstick (unlike the BB lips) but the comforting factor of a moisturising lipstick too. Perfect if your lips are a little dry from the winter.

The Liquid Lacquer: Liquid lipsticks are a trend that intrigued me. I'm yet to try a YSL glossy stain, but I've admired from a far. To save my bank balance I picked up the Rimmel Appocalips (in a number of colours I may add) and I can see why people like the liquid lip. Pigmentation is incredible, shine is gorgeous and the longevity is pretty spectacular. My only gripe is the fact it can get on your teeth a little. I find using the back of the applicator a great way to give the right amount of product.

The Luxurious Buy: Every time I get enough points on my Boots card I go straight to Dior and Chanel and peruse their lipstick selection, picking up and putting down multiple colours and formula's and leave empty handed. I just can't do it. Then Christmas came and bought along with it the Feel Unique Sale. I had a £20 voucher and the YSL Rouge Voluptee was in the sale for that price so I picked one up. Every thing about it screams luxury, from the packaging to the finish. Now I just need to decide on my next colour...

What are your favourite lipsticks?

Laura xoxo

Review: No7 Purity Mask

I picked this up quite a while ago to replace my Origins clay mask when it ran out. I've now been using it for about a month, and I really like it. So much so that it made its way into my June Faves.

It heats on contact with the skin and contains little beads that help to gently exfoliate away dead skin cells. After massaging it on you leave it for a couple of minutes and bask in the lovely oaty scent (flapjacks anyone?) then rinse it off. Skin is left feeling really soft and thoroughly cleansed.

I couldn't resit.

I really like this product, and with the constant throwing away of No7 vouchers that Boots likes to do, it's pretty affordable too.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

Laura xoxo

Throwback Thursday: No7 Deco Darling Palette

I bought this just before Christmas last year and used it quite a lot around the festive period, and, as usual, put it in a drawer and kind of neglected it. So a couple of weeks ago I digged it out and gave it a whirl.

The colours in this palette create the most gorgeous bronze smokey eye, however the pigmentation isn't the best. Although they can be forgiven.

What do you think of these colours? Did you pick this up?

Laura xoxo

Review: No7 Overnight Radiance Boost

At the start of last month, I had some No7 vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, so hot footed to Boots and picked up a few pieces; one of these being this little guy.

It's basically a serum-esuqe product which you put on before moisturiser at night, and over night the products in it (which I think is caffeine and fruit acids) work at renewing your skin so you wake up with brighter looking skin.

It comes in a nice glass feeling but I think it's plastic bottle and a pump dispenser. I wish it had a clear tube on the inside too so you could see how much product was left. It dispenses easily and I find two pumps does my fat face nicely.

Now I when I review products, I like to show you how it works, so I decided to use this product for a month and show you the results. I didn't use it continuously, some nights I used other treatments, but I still thought I'd show you the effect.

I'm sorry the lighting isn't the best, but I wanted a clear background.

Now, whilst the results aren't miracle inducing, I do think there is an ever so subtle difference. My skin hasn't become amazing, and I doubt one product would be able to do that, but what I do think is it has become a lot brighter, and what's more, I enjoy using this product.

So whilst it isn't ground breaking, I would recommend trying out this product if you're looking for a little pick me up for your skin.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

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

NOTD - Highland Mist

So today's nails are following the same beige-y type theme. This is a more muted pink colour from the No7 range. Ofcourse I got it with my £5 off voucher making it only £2. I'm not a big enough fan off these nail varnishes to pay the full £7 for them.

So here it is. It's a nice mix of pink and beige and I think it is a nice subtle colour for everyday wear.

Ofcourse I used my Save the Nail and Sally Hansen Insta Dri with it.

Do you have this colour?

Laura xoxo