peaches and cream

Having suffered from acne-prone skin for most of my life now, compliments on my skin is not something I usually recieve. However this week, I have had three! So, this is a huge step in the right direction. Above is just a sneak preview of the new products I have been testing out, on the recommendation from Caroline Hirons (I do SO love her blog and her way of saying things!). I've also been taking fish-oil tablets daily, so I think it is a combination of these things that are helping. I don't want to speak too soon though, so I am going to wait another week or two before giving you a full review! 

Anyway, I'm off for lunch at a friends today, can't wait to have a good gossip!

freebies

The face you see (or don't) above is one that two weeks of virtually uninterrupted rain has caused. I'm actually started to go a bit crazy, and rather sad because of it. I was watching beautiful videos on Vimeo earlier today of sunny dawns and warm evenings and I could feel myself going a little bit crazy. It's not even like it's Autumn and I have the winter to look forward to. I'll try and stop moping, I'm sorry! To keep me occupied, I went to the shops for my mum the other day and splurged on two magazines. I was going to get the magazine that had the Ren skincare with it but I didn't think I'd actually use any of the products, or read the magazine - and then I spotted these two, and couldn't decide which one to get, so went for both!

The Neom hand cream is really nice, although the smell is a little strange and I can't quite place it, it's very moisturising. I know when my Nivea & L'Occitane have run out, I'll replace it in my handbag with this one! I also opted for the Balance Me face wash, as I am almost finished with my current one and I want to have options to try when it's done. This one smells amazing by the way - apparently it has grapefruit, frankincense and ylang ylang in and I can't wait to try it out. 

anyway, I thought this would be a little heads up, because I haven't seen these doing the rounds like the Ren has and the Benefit one did. I like this because it made me buy Harpers Bazaar, too, and I haven't done that in years - I forgot how much I really like the magazine! I also spotted one with a Xen Tan freebie, but I don't really go in for fake tans, so that didn't interest me.

Have you gone for any of these - what did you get?

treat yo self..take two

In my last post I said I needed to find something to do that didn't involve spending money.. well I haven't found that out yet. Me and my housemate Alex went into Guildford the day of hand-in and had a Nando's lunch and a good browse of Waterstones and Muji and Lush.. it was a very lovely day. 

The Muji Cleansing Oil is me attempting to duplicate my Shu Uemura's Cleansing Oil that I have just run out of and I am addicted too.. I will update you guys with a review when I've had a chance to test it out fully! 

The volcanic looking rock is one of Lush's body butters, called something silly like Snap the Whip, but it was only £5.50 and smells amazinggg! I do love Lush, but I hate that they don't last like other products. I'll do a full/detailed review if you'd like but it's pretty crappy if you want to use it in the shower, because it nearly all melts away the second you get it wet, and rubbing it into dry skin really hurts, I find, because it is so exfoliating! Ah well, you win some, you lose some. 

And finally, I treated myself to a book! I am a massive book nerd but during term-time I find that it's not really acceptable to indulge my fantasy whims (ahem, the ASOIAF series..) so during the summer I go a bit mad for books - I bought two more at a charity shop today! - and this once caught my eye because it sounds really interesting. You can read a review on Amazon or Waterstones but there's also been a 7-hour experimental film made of this, which I might try and find in my universities library later in the year.

Anyway, have you splurged on anything recently? Please make me feel better about my awful spending habits!

Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask Review

I have to say, I didn't realise how much I loved this product until I lost it. I had it for something like two weeks, and lost it mysteriously on the travel between my uni house and my home, a drive that is like twenty minutes, whatttt?

Anyway, I SO didn't appreciate what it was doing for my skin until I couldn't use it anymore! It has worked wonders, so much so that I have gone and repurchased it this week, because I couldn't live without it any longer. Already, I feel my skin clearing up, and I used it a few hours ago.

The review is a mixture of first impressions, and my love of the product!

Initial things that you notice; the smell and the packaging. I bought the 75ml "Starter Kit" and it comes in this little mesh bag with the two sponges, and it retails for £13.25 (I got my 25% discount!). I think you get a good amount for what you pay really, I've certainly shelled out a lot more on face products! The tube is all nice and simple, so that's cool, I have no worries about that!

The smell and the consistency/product texture are the next things that I notice, really. This is my first Liz Earle product, and I heard they were "natural" smelling, but it definitely smells like it's made of good lovely things, not as 'fresh' as I would like, but not bad. It's 

It's a dark, greenish colour, which reminds me of seaweed. It's not so bad, not exactly glamorous, but not bad,.

The consistency of the product is odd, it doesn't really spread very well on my skin, and at first I thought I wasn't doing it right, because it says to apply a "generous layer" and it's hard to do that, so I just kinda slap it on thicker in my worse patches!

Then you leave it on for five-ten minutes! It feels good, comfortably tight, by which I mean that I can still move my face and talk and such, although I do feel like I am wearing a face mask, obviously!

Immediately after, my face feels really good. Very smooth and clean, and like it's soaked up all the impurities. However, using the sponge doesn't make you feel very refreshed, so I definitely recommend giving your face a quick wash afterwards, and trying to keep the sponges as clean as possible. When I'm finished, i place them in the bag, to kinda dry off. Because the bag is meshy, that's possible, but otherwise I don't really know what to do with it! Here's a picture of the sponges, too, to get an idea of the size;

Generally, I love this product, and have repurchased because it's the only thing that has completely cleared my skin up like this!

My only complaint however is the shocking customer service I received in the John Lewis in Reading, because I literally received NONE, both times I went there. There is a lovely, fully stocked counter, but there is just never anyone there and I have questions that need to be answered! Like I wandered around and waited, and no-one came, which is super disappointing, and this time, I wanted to know the price of someone and had to try and find someone capable of telling me.. which really let it down, in my opinion!

Price: 4/5

Packaging: 5/5

Product: 5/5

Customer Service: 0/5

Overall: 5/5

Would I buy this product again?: Yes, and I did!

Have you tried any of Liz Earle's products, let me know in the comments below!

Angels on Bare Skin: Review

I need to fill you in briefly, if you will permit me this! I started at university properly this year (I did a foundation which I called university, although it wasn't really), and on my course there is a lovely lady who works at lush!

She's really lovely. A few of us were talking about our skin and products we use, and she was telling us how bad all these things we were using were for us, haha. I don't know how much is true but it's made me want to use more natural skin products, because i've always been a fan of very chemical-based stuff. So I've scrapped my old skin routine, as it didn't seem to be doing much for me! And started upon a new, scaled back one. I'm only using three products, and one is a makeup remover!

  Angels on Bare Skin, £5.50 for 100g
"This simple ancient blend if ingredients is a worldwide best seller. It improves the texture and health of all skin. The complexion is smooth, toned and even. Cleanse your skin with this delicate balance of Almonds, Kaolin and soothing essential oils. Take a small piece of cleanser and mix with water in your hand to create Almond Milk. Massage gently into clean skin then rinse away with warm water."

That's what Lush say, anyway! I'll explain what I think and how I've been using it. First, I make sure I've removed as much makeup with a liquid makeup remover as possible, and give my face a quick wash with warm water. I take a little chunk of the product - the video on the website says you only need a little bit. I take about a chewing-gum sized piece, and rub it in my hands a little, to warm it up. I then rub it lightly over my forehead, cheeks and chin. Once it's mostly distributed, i get my hands really wet and massage it in, giving my skin a good cleanse and exfoliate. The product goes milky when it's starting to cleanse, and I like that.

It's a gritty product, without feeling too rough on your skin, with chunks of lavender in, which give it that amazing, almond-lavender milky smell. It's really nice. The texture give it just enough substance to make it useful as an exfoliator and a cleanser, which is really good, I don't feel like I have to use two products. It seems to get right down in my pores, too. I wanted this because it says it improves the texture of the skin, which is something I always worry about, especially closer to winter, and I think it's doing that. My skin looks healthier, despite seeing little improvement in my breakouts!

Generally, I really love this. I think I'm prone to have breakouts all my life, sadly, but it's definitely improving the smoothness of my skin, and makes it look more awake. The price-tag is MORE than acceptable, I think. £5.50 for 100g may seem like a lot, but you only need a tiny bit each day, I've barely made a dent and I've been using it for just over a week now, every day! However, personally, I wish that Lush put a little bit more effort into their packaging - but I understand that they're all about the environment, which I appreciate!

Price: 5/5  Packaging: 4/5  Product: 4/5  Overall: 5/5  Would I buy this product again?: I will evaluate this when I'm out of it, but I think I might! Have you tried anything new, recently, have you had good results? Let me know, lovelies!

Clare Marie
xx

Skin Routine

I thought I would do you a little post a bout my skin-care routine. I was talking about it on Twitter and wondered if anybody was interested, and a few people were... and here we are.

L-R:

Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover

Shu Uemura Skin Purifier

The Body Shop Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash

Decleor Paris Tonifying Lotion

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub

One:

Make sure all your makeup is removed. I use a liquid eye makeup remover, and then a face-cleanser. I like this Shu Uemura one, but I'm probably not going to repurchase. Both this and the Boots Botanic are oil-based cleansers, and as a chick who likes a shit-ton of eyeliner and is a fan of bright, staining lipstick.. these are godsends, literally. Matte red lipstick stains like hell, and this gets it off. If you're feeling lazy and can't be bothered, cheat and use a makeup wipe and THEN use a cleanser like the Body Shop one (i'll get onto that in a second). Generally I don't use both the Shu Uemura and the Body Shop, as this dries my skin out. To remove eye makeup, dampen a cotton pad with your remover, hold on eye makeup for ten-twenty seconds, then sweep off, removing makeup and mascara.
Two:

Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse. This seaweed one from the Body Shop is inexpensive and great quality. Even if you think you've got rid of all your makeup - you probably haven't. It'll be lurking. If you want to use a deep-pore one, those are great, you can kind of tell when they're working well as you feel really clean and your skin is nice and smooth, but not dried out. This will get rid of any traces of dirt or oil, and everyday yuck like that. If you remove your makeup properly and cleanse every single day, you're much less likely to get spots or blemishes.
Three:

Exfoliation. Some people say this isn't necessary, but I think it's important to do it every so often. If you have sensitive skin, do it twice a week, or something. I find it just helps remove any dead or dry skin, and keeps my skin feeling fresh and smooth. My skin always looks brighter and healthier, and more glowy. Don't use a scrub that's too harsh, or you're scratch and hurt your skin. I've just upgraded from a veryyyyyy gentle one (with barely any exfoliator in it) to this Neutrogena, and I feel like it's on the border of being a bit too harsh, but I'll see how it goes.
Four:

Tonerr. This step definitely isn't completely necessary. Some think they're awesome, others claim that some are too harsh and can remove your nail-varnish (ahem, Clinique..). A good toner tightens your pores and gets rid of anything left on your skin. If you feel like your cleanser does this, leave it out. Genuinely, I have had this bottle for ages now, and only bust it out when my skin is in real need of rescue, but I do recommend Decleor for face-essentials. They're a pricey brand but they're a good name with good products, in my opinion. This is a very nice, gentle product that doesn't hurt or sting, and has a really lovely, fresh smell. Investigate and try out your toners, if possible, and read many opinions before settling on one for yourself. If it stings or feels too harsh, stop using it. To apply, just sweep all over your face with a cotton ball (these seem to work better than with pads, I'm not really sure why).
Five:

Moisture. I haven't included a picture, because I need to buy a new one, but my ultimate favourite is Clinique's Dramtically Different Moisturising Gel (such a mouthful). They do two, a lotion and a gel, the gel is infiniteeely better, imho. It sinks into your skin immediately, leaving wonderful, soft, soft, soft skin. This makes sure any moisture you've removed from your skin by cleansing and exfoliating and scrubbing is put back in, ensuring you don't get dry skin! Simple.

Was this helpful? Do you have any questions..? What is your skin routine..? Let me know! (: