I have a small confession to make

 I hate moisturiser, which for a beauty addict is very strange! I have just never liked the texture and how it takes hours to get dressed afterwards. Its sticky and slimy and I avoid doing it like the plague. 

As I'm getting older I'm noticing my skin is getting a lot drier and so I've been playing around with all sorts of oils, sprays, butters and creams to leave me with gleaming shins and baby soft skin. I thought I would review my most used body moisturisers for you!

  

Soap and Glorys Righteous Body Butter is always a favourite with magazines and the smell of it is incredible. My boyfriend knows to make me happy all he needs to do is buy me Soap and Glory or Cadbury! At the same time this product disappoints me it feels greasy and heavy and takes ages to soak in. 

Elle Macpherson products are heavenly and they have an incredible scent. The Ultimate Moisture Body Butter contains honey and vitamin E and makes your skin feel incredible. Blending Elle Macpherson products into the skin feels like your own little aromatherapy massage. I tend to use this after a lovely bath in the evening. 

As well as using Elle Macpherson moisturiser I also use her pulse point oil throughout the day and her hand cream and foot cream. The products are quite good quality but for me they just make you feel pampered which always brings a smile to my face!

The Body Shop has been having a rough time recently, they aren't doing very well as a brand and I'm  no longer inspired when I walk into their stores. There body butters are a cult product but personally I believe that now so many other brands make a better version of this product. One thing that I find their products are amazing for is giving massages to a loved one :).

Nivea creme is a recent discovery, the products been around for years and it is perfect for that dab of dry skin throughout the day. I have a massive jar of it to keep on my dresser and a mini tub for each handbag! I just love this product. It feels healing and calming and is defiantly a winning formula for eczema and dry itchy skin.

The Sanctuary Body Milk Spray is the product I use everyday as a quick spray over the body leaves the skin feeling nourished and soaks in so quickly. 

Speak soon x x x

Beauty Promises

As of late I've become a little lazy with my beauty routine. A mixture of tiredness, air conditioning, lack of routine and poor diet have really taken its tool! I keep promising once I move into the new flat everything will sort itself out, but I think I should be a little more proactive.

So I'm going to make myself some beauty promises in a hope that my skin will calm down and I will feel more upbeat and beautiful :).

So I promise too ...

• Apply fake tan more regularly as I'm turning a shade of ghostly grey
• Get more sleep, as the tiredness only adds to my ghostly complexion
• Throughly cleanse, tone and moisturise at night instead of using just cleansing wipes
• Stop drinking so much espresso and tea at work and drink much more water
• Spend more time in the morning carefully applying my makeup to prevent the mascara wand in the eye situation (like this morning)

I need to find my camera charging lead so I can take some photos, as I have a FOTD and haul post to do!

What are your daily beauty commitments and are you starting any random resolutions?

Much loveee xxxx

• 
  

Products I love right now

So today is a bit of a lazy day, and so I decided it would be an excellent chance to talk about all the products I have been using and actually loving!

Lush Tea Tree Water

My skin is not my friend, its hormonal, blotchy, spotty, dry and annoying and somehow this product manages to control it. I have a love / hate relationship with Lush, sometimes I find it to be overpriced and questionable but sometimes they release a product which actually is quite amazing. The combination of tea tree, grapefruit and juniper feels really refreshing on the skin and the smell is very medicinal and therefore gives the feeling of the product "working". I use this with whatever moistuiser I have to hand at that moment and my skin has really thanked me for it as my pores are less defined and my skin less tempermental, what is better than that!

                                                     

 St Tropez Everyday Gradual Tan for Body - Medium / Dark

For me a good tan is worth any price tag and I've tried them all! In fact I may have to play with them all again and have a very long post about it. I'm naturally pinky-pale and I always look better with a golden glow but I hate the feeling of rich creams on the skin, so I will only put on fake tan at night. Sleepy application = streaks, patches and orange armpits! Recently I started leering more towards brands which are the higher end of my budget but trustworthy and tanning is no different. I always can count on St Tropez to deliver a decent, fool proof tan in a natural-ish shade. This product smells quite fresh but there is a note of biscuit, it has a lovely gel like consistency which sinks in quickly and when I wake up I'm subtly glowing and just feel that little bit more beautiful, which is defiantly worth £14. Obviously for a good natural tan in one application this isn't going to deliver but  its the best gradual tanner I've tried.

Benefit Smokin' Eyes
I've began getting a bit lazy in the morning when applying my face, and sometimes its a mad rush to the car so I've started picking up a few things to keep in my work handbag that makes my morning easier including batiste dry shampoo (I hate my hair smelling like talcum powder so I have to spray perfume in my hair as well), nail polish remover pads for when the chip in my polish is just too obvious and a couple of other quick fixes. This product I brought for quick touch ups during the day and as a just in case. This product is just so handy! The pigmentation is good, the colours are neutral, boring, perfect and the mini tweezers are just genius! 

Sanctuary Spa Professional Micro-Dermabrasion Body Renewal

I'm sure I dont need to preach to anyone how amazing exfoliants are and how lovely they make your skin but this one is excellent value for money. A pet hate of mine is any salt scrub, exfoliant or micro dermabrasion product which has barely any exfoliating particles in it. The worst offender is defiantly Body Shop. On the other hand this product is packed, it smells beautiful and I spend the rest of the day stroking my super soft skin.

Speak soon xxx

Beauty storage issues and general ramble!

I move into my new flat on the 1st July, its very much my partners choice of rustic floorboards and a massive fireplace ... but I get a little something special all too myself; my own boudoir beauty room!

Every morning I awake at 7am, shower, open the curtains wide, blow dry my hair and just generally crash about and make lots of noise! This is a great pain to my other half who doesn't have to leave for work until 10am (lazy bugger). So as a compromise I'm getting a whole room of walk in wardrobes and vanity heaven!

So I've been thinking storage! Currently my beauty products fill two under bed storage boxes, the bathroom, a chest of draws and four shelves

*hangs head in shame*

And make up has three separate squishy bags, a small chest of draws, my handbag and then another chest of draws at my parents house.

*Hangs head even lower*

But I was wondering now what would you suggest? I always either see the make up squishy bags form Boots or Superdrug, or make up artist cases. I will now have a vanity table and mirror but I want something practical where I can keep everything in one place as I regularly buy products to find I already had it!

So expects a few photos of the new place and I have so many reviews to do!

Speak soon xxx

Quick update!

So I wake up this morning to my first Saturday off work in a long time and find out its going to be 28°C today! Its so sunny outside already! In England on hot days we just don't know what to do, groups of girls run into Primark to pick up summery dresses. My plan for today is to do the same, stock up on a few things to last me over summer. Expect a mini haul post later!

I have a very feminine sense of style, which can also verge on boring. Every day I'm in pencil skirts, a pretty top and heels. So I barely have any "normal" clothes any more. And that's my excuse for my little shopping trip today! I also (obviously) want to stock up on make up, I desperately need a blusher to last me till Nars sends me the right product back, so I think today I'm going to have to pick up a couple of cheaper blushers to play with.


I'm also looking at apartments today, and I bet each apartment is going to look so nice due to the weather and I'm going to fall in love with them all.


Speak soon and enjoy the weather!!! xxxxxxxxxxx

Mr Nars, you seem to of made a mistake.

So I was all giddy and excited to re-purchase my "orgasm/laguna" duo, but the website got my order wrong!

Just like a kid at Christmas I opened the parcel with great excitement, and it was the "orgasm/south beach" cream multiple duo :(. I checked my order and I had done it correctly, but they sent me the wrong thing! Now I'm undecided, do I return what I brought and send it all the way back to France or just try to learn to embrace cream blushers? I must be honest, I'm a bit of a numpty when it comes to cream blushers, I just cant get them to blend right, any suggestions are welcome!

The multiple can be used on the eyes, lips and cheeks for different effects, but due to the poor quality of this product no matter how much I applied or where I applied it neither shades showed up. It wasnt even worth a photograph! The consistency was so thin and greasy and the colour just wasn't as pigmented as you would expect from Nars. Although the website does describe the product as "sheer", what's the point in spending money on a high end brand if you cant even see the product when applied!

Although one thing I was excited to play with was the mini "striptease" and "dolce vita" lipglosses. In terms of consistency, they are perfect. I like lipglosses to be kissable! I always find myself wiping off lipgloss so that I dont cover my boyfriend in a sticky gooey mess. But these glosses are soft but still look lovely and shiny. 

Dolce vita is a pretty dusky rose, and is very much my cup of tea. Due to my fair colouring, I prefer to have a dark pink or red lip colour, otherwise I look completely washed out. I find myself looking to put this on now before I go to work so definatly going to repurchase this. 

Hehe ignore the pile of washing in the background, I have time for blogging not for cleaning :).

Striptease for me was never going to be "the one", but I love the gold shimmer that reflects beautifully under certain lights. Its probably the first "nude" I've found wearable. Its long lasting and definitely worth buying if you like a nude lip. Below I have worn striptease with gosh darling. See what I mean about the washed out effect, I look asleep!

Tell me about your recent Nars purchases! 

Much love x x x

Questions, questions, questions ...

SKINCARE

-How many times do you wash your face daily?
In the morning, when I get back from work, then I'm naughty and use a simple face wipe before I go to bed

-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
Combination ... which likes to be spotty

-What is your current facial wash?
I alternate .. L'oreals new silly exfoliating wash with the little scrublet. It is such a gimmick. Then sometimes neutrogena wash/mask.

-Do you exfoliate?
Daily

-What brand do you use?
Dermalogicas micro-foliant

-What moisturizer do you use?
No 7's Heavenly Hydration. Although this is meant to be a mask, my boyfriend found it and started stealing it, makes both our skin super soft

-Do you have freckles?
Nope just one big beauty mark under one eye

-Do you use eye cream?
Sometimes I use the garnier eye roll on or No 7's protect and perfect eye cream

-Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
Oh yes! It was horrid until I finnaly got Roacutane prescribed. That stuff is deadly! But now thankfully I only get spotty on bad days.

-Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
No alot of cheaper stuff has a larger amount of its main ingredient

MAKE-UP
-What foundation do you use?
Revlon Colorstay for dry/normal

-How about concealer?
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer

-Do you know your undertone color?
Defiantly pink! But makeup hides that.

-What do you think of fake eyelashes?
Tryed them once, It was a horror story! Maybe some time Ill try again in the future

-Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes but I easily get through a number by then, as I get bored or another product comes out.

-What brand of mascara do you use?
I love Max Factor false lash effect at the moment! Although I tend to use a different mascara for the lower lashes, otherwise it looks silly

-Sephora or MAC?
Never got a chance to play with much sephora, so for the moment its MAC

-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
Nope :(

-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
I use my fingers so often, otherwise I use my MAC brushes, Body Shop brushes (they are sooo soft), or this one ELF studio brush which for some reason I keep using even though its pretty poor

-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Normally I just use a benefit concealer

-For the face?
Not really.

-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
Pale browns! I'm a neutral kind of girl!

-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
Liquid is too much for my little eyes, I look a little "snog, marry, avoid" (english tv program, worth a watch). Definatly pencil in black or brown. Although I have purple, green and silver pencils too.

-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Never actually, always do it with the mascara wand :(

-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
Super messy, but amazing for a night out.

-Do you use mineral makeup?
Never quite sits right on my skin, and I need more coverage for my acne scarring.

-What is your favorite lipstick?
Strangely its Max Factor Plush Blush, as i just picked it up on a whim and fell in love with the dusky pink shade. Otherwise Its a shocking blue-toned Red Lipstick for me!!

-How about lipgloss?
Revlon's Nude Lustre

-What is your favorite blush to use?
Nars Deep throat, Orgasm or Laguna

-Do you like drugstore makeup?
I love it, I have a large collection of premium brands, but its only a rare few high end products that I repurchase

-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
Yes I already have for 2 years!

-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
The morning 10 minute makeup routine is veryyyy messy :S

-Name a makeup crime that you hate?
So many!! Too much makeup, heavy blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner (when not done properly), motorway blusher, foundation tan lines, bright lipliner ... need I go on

-Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
I am a neutral eye girl through and through, but an occasional bright eyeliner or a deep green looks good on me. And for nights out its always red lipstick!

-Which celebrity always has great make up?
Due to my bizarre colouring I tend to look towards Scarlett Johansson Olivia Palmero or Lauren Conrad.

-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Argh! Never! I guess a light smattering of foundation, it really makes me look so much more alive.

-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
Very rarely. Although I wouldn't cry over it, I just think its nice to look presentable.

-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
I look pretty awful :p

-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
I always full in love with Revlon or Nars. They just cater to me so well!

-What do you think of Makeup?
When its not a mad morning rush I love it. the whole process is a little ritual to me, I love finding new products, and catering my routine to how my skin and colouring looks that day. Makeup makes me happy :)