A Skincare Update

I made this post well over a year ago now all about my skincare routine, and I feel like my skincare game has changed dramatically in the past few months. I do have two products that are still the same, but everything else has been swapped out for something my skin is appreciating a lot more, which makes me and my skin happier!
My first routine of the day is of course the morning, and as someone who has oily areas to their face, I tend to find that I do produce a lot of oil at night sometimes, and so I use the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish to remove everything from my face and I have loved this product for years now! It just leaves my skin feeling so clean and fresh, and it doesn't have anything harsh in it which is great for my sensitive skin! The next product is the Mario Badescu Facial Spray and I use this straight after I've cleansed kind of like a toner, except it just puts hydration back into the skin, and with ingredients such as rose water and aloe, it feels really refreshing on the skin! I then use the Boots Time Delay Youth Maintain Eye Cream which is something I picked up because it was on offer at about £2 and I have been loving it! Since using it, my under eyes have felt a lot more hydrated, and I have also found that concealer applies easier and does not crease at all, so this product has been incredible for me!

This product is one I am still using and have been for a few years, the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ and I can honestly say that my acne scarring has been so much better for using this, and I use this everyday without fail as it just helps with any imperfections on the skin. Over the past few months, I have been trying out things from Lancome and the next product I use is the Genifique Youth Activating Serum which is a serum and I just love this because it's super hydrating, and it makes the skin look so radiant and I find that it really helps with any uneven texture on my skin! And lastly I use the Lancome Hydra Zen and since using this as my daily moisturiser, my skin feels a lot more hydrated and the skin texture has also felt a lot smoother which makes me extremely happy!

My evening routine does also include a couple of the same products including the facial spray and eye cream, but there are also a couple of different products. To remove my makeup, I still used the beloved Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil as I feel like it really gets rid of all the makeup so quickly and easily! I also love the fact that it's an oil with a pump which means mess free and just simple to use even when taking my makeup off feels like a chore! And the last product I like to use at night time is the night version of my day moisturiser, which is the Lancome Hydra Zen Nuit and this is the best night moisturiser I've ever used, it leaves my skin completely hydrated and it after regular use it even makes the skin look more luminous in the mornings!
There are also other products I thought I'd mention even though I don't use them everyday, but some of you may find them helpful in your routine as well! I have two different face masks that I like to use, the first being L'Oreal Pure Clay Detox mask and this is designed to deeply cleanse the pores and leave the face "detoxed" without drying the skin out! I love to use them directly on blemishes to really draw them out, or I use this in the places on my face such as my nose and cheeks where my pores are a little bigger just to cleanse them thoroughly. The other mask I like to use is the Manuka Doctor ApiClear Peel Off mask which has been a lifesaver for me since buying it! This mask is designed for congested skin and as someone who suffers with acne and scarring, this has really helped clear up my skin and it also leaves it feeling soft and glowing which is always a bonus!

The are two more products that I like to add into my routine and the first one is from La Roche Posay Lotion Micro Exfoliant and this is something that I only use one or twice a week as an exfoliating method. I find that this really gets deep in the pores especially on my nose and after using this, it just makes my skin feel so much smoother which makes applying making a lot easier! And the final product that I like to use is the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion which is a product people know about due to Kylie Jenner, and I love this because it dries out spots overnight and really helps to clear up any spots that are just appearing! This product just helps me to worry less abut anything popping up on my face, and so I feel so much better about my skin in general!
Have any of you used any of these products or can recommend anything else to add to my skincare routine? I'd love to know what products you like to use on yourselves!

Inside the Skincare Drawer

I'm always intrigued to know what other people use in their skincare routines, and mine is something that I don't think I've ever shared on my blog! I do admit, that some products do get changed around and I'm still trying to use everything I feel is necessary but I'm still not 100% with my routine, is anyone? I thought I would share it with you all anyway and maybe some of you lovely people could give me product suggestions, but skincare is something that I really want to completely happy with, you only get one face after all!
So my skin type is oily/combination, sensitive and acne prone, could the combo get any worse? I don't think so! So obviously my main concerns are keeping oil at bay while making sure that acne and redness is reduced as much as possible! I do also suffer from small dry patches which can be a right pain and so I use a mixture of products to target different things! My AM routine starts with the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish which I have been using for as long as I can remember, and I think I'm now on something like my fourth or bottle and that's when you know you love it well! I just find that my skin feels super clean whenever I use this and it's so gentle on my skin -  I do think I use the light version though! But this is a great cleanser for anyone who is starting out in their skincare routine because it's almost a one size fits all! I don't have one toner that I necessarily stick to, but at the moment I have been reaching for my Lush Tea Tree Toner Water because my acne has been playing up and it soothes my skin, while helping to dry out the blemishes! I also have the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, which brightens up my complexion whenever I use it and this is also great for people with sensitive skin because it contains no alcohol!

I have two serums that I like to use, one of them is The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Serum and I find that this one is great because it hydrates the dry patches on my skin, therefore making the application of any makeup on top a lot easier however I am now on my second bottle of the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Serum which I found really helped the way my skin looked and felt, which is does claim to do! For a drugstore serum it can be seen as a little pricey, but honestly for the price it is worth it! My skin looked healthier and fresher all the time, I do need to pick up a new bottle thinking about it! When I do remember to wear an eye cream, the one I reach for is The Body Shop Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo which holds a cream in one side and a liquid the other, and what I love about this is that the side with the liquid also has a metal roller ball, so when you put it on it really soothes and cools the eye area! As far moisturiser goes, there is only one that I've been reaching for just recently, and that is The Body Shop Vitamin C Moisturiser which makes me skin look so healthy and glowing while giving it enough moisture to tackle my dry patches but not take my oily areas over board! This also smells so fruity which I love, the only thing I wish this did have was some kind of SPF, but it's great for everything else so I can't complain!
Now moving onto my PM routine, this contains fewer products and because I mostly finish work at 1am, it does mean that I tend to skip steps which I know I shouldn't do! Anyway, to remove the mess on my face, I use The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil that everyone has raved about because it really is that good! It does remove almost all my makeup, aside from waterproof mascara (which we all know is a pain) and I just massage it into the skin before taking it off with a wet muslin cloth, it's as easy as that! I do sometimes use the Garnier Micellar Water after my first cleanse to make sure that everything is gone, especially when I've been wearing foundations like Estee Lauder Double Wear, which really clings to the skin! This micellar could be used as a cleanser on it's own but for me I don't feel like this cleans my skin thoroughly enough! 
Something that has become an absolute holy grail since entering my routine is the Dermalogica Clear Start Overnight Treatment which has really helped with most of my acne, but I will admit that for me this wasn't an overnight transformation with my skin, and I know if I have forgotten to use it because my skin will hate me! Along with this, I will sometimes use the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and these two together just tackle blemishes to the best of their ability! I do need to find something to help fade my scars now though, oh how I love my skin! The final step in my nightly routine is to use The Body Shop Bouncy Sleeping Mask which I love! This product is something that I feel I will repurchase again and again because I've found that it has really helped how my skin looks in the morning, because it's a mask that sinks in overnight to really plump and brighten the skin! This could be seen as pretty pricey for the brand but I would honestly recommend this to everyone and their dogs!

I also have a few other products that I use in my skincare, just not so regularly and the first of these is the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Mask which I could sing and dance about for days because it's that good! I slap a good layer of this on, and it's so cooling and soothing on the skin, that I never want to take it off! But seriously, this has ingredients in that are really good for the skin, and I find that once I've washed this off, my skin looked less red and acne prone which for me is incredible! I also like to exfoliate every two to three days to keep my pores clear and take away any dead skin (tmi?) and for this I tend to use the Garnier Pure Active Exfoliating Scrub which is designed for people with oily and acne prone skin and so I'll keep using this until I find something better! Some of you may have noticed no face wipes yet and I technically don't own any for the face, but I do have a packet of the Simple Kind to Eyes Wipes and the only time I really use these are when I've been wearing an excessive amount of eye makeup that I want to remove before going in with my oil cleanser, as it just makes it a lot easier! And I find that these ones don't aggravate my eye area too much which is always a bonus!
I hope you all enjoyed a little look into my skincare! Do any of you have any suggestions to what to add in or replace, I'm always looking to try new products! Or do any of you use some of the products that I do? I'd love to know!

July Favourites

Another month has rolled around at a ridiculously fast pace and so that can only mean that it's time for me to ramble about what products I've been loving for the month of July! I do have to admit that July has been a month where the weather got ridiculously hot for the UK, to then be raining at the current time of writing this post! And so due to all this, it's safe to say that my skin is rebelling and really doesn't like me at the moment!
So the weather has made my skin a little drier than usual and so I have been using The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser which not only provides my skin with a hydrating layer to help battle my dry patches but also leaves my skin looking so refreshed and glowing like the name would suggest! Due to the colour of this moisturiser, it helps to prevent the look of tiredness to the skin and I really think that it does improve this, at least one me. It's one that is a little pricey for a drugstore option, but if you suffer with skin that looks a little lifeless and dull, I would highly recommend trying this out!

The first of my makeup favourites comes from Makeup Geek, and their eyeshadows are something that I wish I had discovered a long time ago because the quality of these shadows are incredible for the price! But the one shade that I really want to mention is Peach Smoothie which is the perfect transition shade for any eye look and honestly this has been my go to for almost every time I've done my makeup, and I can see me hitting pan on this before any other of the shadows from Makeup Geek! I've also been using my MAC Quad again which honestly, I'd kind of forgotten about and glad I've rediscovered, it houses Vanilla, Charcoal Brown, All That Glitters and Woodwinked which all together create the sort of eye look that I create all the time! There's something about MAC shadows that I really love, the pigment is amazing and I have yet to find one that doesn't blend out beautifully and although these are pricier than the Makeup Geek ones, I would still highly recommend if you want to splash out a little more!
Sticking with the eyes, I have also been using the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner but not in the typical black shade, instead I have been opting for brown which I have found is a lot easier to wear and goes with a lot more of the shadow colours that I tend to wear! And I have found that the Maybelline gel liner is so easy to use, and because it's so creamy, it just glides straight onto the eye and really does stay in place for the day! And even though I have been using brown liner, I have still been loving my Maybelline Lash Sensational because it's the one mascara that really separates my lashes while still giving them length and definition, and it doesn't transfer onto my eyelids! But everyone has raved about this mascara and so I feel like I don't need to say too much about it, just buy it if you haven't already!

A few new purchases have made their way into this months favourites, the first of them being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit which I am questioning to why I didn't buy earlier! My most used shades from this kit are definitely Sand and Fawn which I use for my contour and highlight and I don't feel like I would use any other contour shade (except maybe Hoola) now just because it is so grey and really looks like a shadow on the face and not bronzer in the wrong place! And as for the highlight, it isn't chunky or too glittery, instead it looks subtle on the cheekbones and is a shade that really reflects in the light! And to go with this I have been using the Real Techniques Sculpting brush with the fawn shade as the brush fits into the hollows of the cheeks perfectly and really helps to create the defined contour!
As I have been trying to get into using pink lipsticks, I picked up Brave from MAC and I have been loving using this shade as it is one that is so easy to wear! I feel like if I have been wearing a lipstick this month, it has most likely been this one and for someone who wasn't into pink lipstick a few months ago, they have really started to grow on me as long as I'm wearing the right shade of pink to suit me! As well as this I have been using the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in the shade Nude Mauve which I have found is so subtle on the cheek, while still giving a glow due to the marbled effect of the blush! And this is one that I have been using a lot because it goes with almost any make up look and any lip colour and so it's definitely been my go to blush! And my final favourite for this month has been the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer which I have been mixing with the concealer for my under eye area as it this concealer really brightens and reflects in the light which is perfect for the under eye area! But I do find that using this on its own doesn't hold enough coverage and so this is why I mix it with other concealers!
So these have been my favourites for this month and as you can see there has been a lot of make up involved in this one! I would love to know if any of you have been loving the same products as me? Or any products you have been loving this month, I'm always looking for new things to try! 

A Body Shop Haul

Over the past couple of months, I have been buying a lot of things from The Body Shop and so I thought I'd share with you what I've picked up! I always like to see what other people are buying as I always think it helps towards my own decisions on purchasing a product so I hope that some of you will find this helpful!

I have quite problematic skin and most of the time I'm prone to having a lot of acne, and so I thought that I would try out a couple of things from the Tea Tree range! The first thing that I picked up was the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion and I have just been using this on any seriously problematic areas to see if it will improve the appearance of break outs! To go with this I decided to try out the Tea Tree Night Lotion which I have been using every night since I got it, and it's my night time "serum" as such because I put this on after my toner but before moisturiser. The purpose of this lotion is to help improve the appearance of any breakouts as well as old scars and pigmentation problems, and so hopefully with continuous use of this product, I should see some sort of improvement with my skin!

I'd been looking around for a new serum for a while now after nearly finishing my old one and due to my skin being quite dry recently, I thought that I would try out something that has a lot more moisture in it. So, that's why I decided to pick up the Vitamin E Moisture Serum after trying a couple of things from the Vitamin E line before! And since I've been using this every morning in my routine, I do feel like my skin hasn't been anywhere near as dry and so I'll continue to use this and hope that my skin appreciates the added moisture in my routine!

I'm someone who doesn't really use face masks as often as I should, and because my skin can be quite sensitive, I'm always rather worried about what to use but I decided that I would try out the Warming Mineral Mask and I have been using this weekly, and I love the way it leaves my face feeling so clean! The heat from the mask, opens up the pores and so I feel like it deeply cleanses and cleans, and this is what I like about this mask! I could imagine this being lovely in the winter, when it's cold, as it really does heat up on the skin!

Another line that intrigued me is the Aloe range and this is something that I can use on my sensitive skin without having to worry about it being irritated and so I decided to pick up a couple of things from this range! The first being the Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser and the first thing that I liked about this was that it come in a 200ml bottle and so for me, that's a lot of product as I don't tend to go through cleanser that quickly! However, I love that I can put this on and it feels like it really cleans my skin without irritating it because it has nothing harsh in it (this cleanser doesn't even smell of anything)!! I have been using this almost every day, but I must admit that I still do love my Liz Earle Cleanser! The second product that I purchased from this line was the Aloe Protective Restoring Mask and this is something that I don't use too often, because it's more of a treatment for the skin that provides extra hydration which is what I feel like my skin has been needing! And so I've really been loving this, and this has even helped in the more oily areas of my skin!

I bought one make up item that I had been looking at for quite some time and I think it might be a dupe for the Nars Copacabana Illuminator and this is the Radiant Highlighter the only difference between these two products is that one is slightly pinker than the other! But I have been really enjoying using the highlighter under my foundation to just give that healthy glow to the skin, and this can also be used on top of foundation as a highlighter, but I do prefer it underneath the foundation!

One of my favourite products that I've bough just recently is the Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo which I have used every day since I've had it! I love that one end has a roller ball with a liquid and the cooling sensation is used to help reduce any puffiness around the eye area and the other end has a cream that's applied with a die foot applicator and this is a yellow toned cream that I think helps counteract with the dark colours in the under eye area! This is a product that is packed with vitamin C and so it's really goof for the skin and since having this product, I've really wanted to try more from the Vitamin C range.

My most recent purchase from The Body Shop has been the Drops Of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask and this is a mask that has been designed to be left on overnight and it helps to improve the look of skin, making it bouncier and more youthful and I'll be using this every night to see if I can see any signs of improvement! This product is something that is a little more pricey but you do get 90ml of product and the texture of this product is almost like memory foam and so I feel like this would take a very long time to get through, and so if it does work, it is well worth the investment!

Have any of you tried these products? As I'm sure I will be leaving some in depth reviews once I've had the chance to try out all of these products for a while! But in the meantime, have any of you got any other recommendations from The Body Shop?

Abigail
xo

Beauties That I Continue To Love

I thought I would share will all some of the beauty products that I continually love and some of them I've been using for quite some time and others are fairly new into my routine. But when you when you love a product, you just know, right?!

The Body Shop is somewhere I'd only really considered going for skincare until a a year or so ago, and boy was I wrong! I always knew they did make up, but I kind of assumed it wasn't the best, and I can say I'm truly thankful to whoever swayed the decision on me trying out some of their beauty products! Both of the products from here are pretty well known within the beauty blogging world, just because they were so highly talked about at one point, and the first is the Instablur which I guess can be considered a spin off for a product such as Benefit's Porefessional! I have a few reasons why I prefers Instablur, but the main is because it doesn't dry out my skin anywhere near as much as the Porefessional, and I honestly think the consistency is so much better for filling in things such as pores and so I love using this as a primer! 

And the second product that I use a lot, is the Honey Bronzer, and the reason I constantly go back to this bronzer is for the simple fact that it is so light, and for a pale girl like me, the muddy look isn't the way forwards and so the lighter the bronzer, the better! They do have this bronzer in darker colours and I honestly think it's an all round great bronzer and I'd highly recommend it if you haven't already tried it!

For anyone who reads my posts or follows me on my twitter or instagram it will come as no surprise that I cannot live without these next two products, I think I use these every single time I do my make up (and then wonder why I run out so quickly)... The first of these two is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer which has been used by pretty much everyone, and for the price of this concealer, you really can't go wrong! It's coverage is amazing without being the slightest bit cakey, and the although the shade range isn't great, the lightest shade works for me and so that's all I'm really asking for!

The other highly loved product in my collection is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil and the reason I know that I can't live without this from now on, is that I recently used the last of it up without having any back ups (rookie error)! But when I went to buy another one, it was sold out, and I was without my beloved beloved brow pencil for a good three weeks and until I managed to find it in stock, my brows did not look like they usually would! They do only have two shades in their range but I find that they are pretty universal as far as one for brown haired girls and one for fairer and blonde haired girls go!

I put off buying this next product for a long time, just for thinking that I didn't need to buy a lip balm that was almost £10 because is a lip balm really that good? But yes, yes it is and I was proven wrong! I am of course talking about the Nuxe Reve De Miel and even in the not so cold months, this is a lip saviour especially for those who like to wear lipstick a lot! I tend to stick this on once I'm at the end of my skin care routine both in the morning and at night, and it keeps my lips hydrated for a long time! And I've not had a lip balm that can deal with seriously chapped lips like this once can! 

Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, the product that all beauty bloggers either own or consider owning (and will probably end up owning at some point) but who needs another eyeshadow palette, right? You do! This has the nicest variety of shades so you can make it work for day time and night time looks, and I also think  the shades would work for pretty much every skin tone because there's something in there to suit everyone's likings! And who doesn't want an eyeshadow palette that literally smells like chocolate?! I really want to try more from this brand and have so many things sat on a never ending wishlist! 

Powders are something that I really tend to struggle with because I have a t-zone that tends to get super oily and so as the weather gets warmer, I feel like I have to a billion powders on standby because I'll go through them super quick! And one that I have been loving for a while now is the MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural because it's one that seems to hold off letting the oil come through for quite some time before I feel like I need to touch up! And this powder, is one that is very light on the skin, doesn't transfer too much colour and doesn't look at all cakey on top of foundations and so I think this will probably be my go to during the warmer months to fight off that oil!

The last product that I use to death is the Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyesahdow Base and I'm going to need to get a back up soon, because I feel like this will run out, and I just won't know what to do with my eyelids! But this keeps eyeshadow in place so much longer than any other primer I have used, and when it says smudge proof, it really does mean it! Sometimes I can come home from work looking like a right mess (I regret nothing) and if there's one thing that I know will still be in place, it's my eyeshadow and I'm someone who was always pretty dubious about wearing eyeshadow and liquid liners for long periods of time for the fear of it all creasing, fading and just looking generally disgusting but I don't have to worry about any of that any more and I don't think 'll ever change from this primer - which is a pretty bold statement!

Let me know if you have tried any of these products and agree (or disagree) with me because I'd love to know! Also share what you love in your make up stash, I'm always on the hunt for new things!

Abigail

xo

Things I Would Buy Again

As someone who buys a lot of skincare and make up, it really says something about a product that I will go and repurchase instead of trying something else, and so I thought I'd share with you some of the products that I will continue to repurchase for a long time!

Starting with skincare - which is something that I really struggle with - it's nice to find a few products that I can keep in my routine and know that they work for me! The first thing is something that I only discovered towards the end of last year, and this is the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask, and I love this because it's so soothing on the skin, and for me it calms all the redness and acne down! The next two products won't be anything you haven't seen before, but I swear by the Liz Earle cleanser which is great for people like me, who have super sensitive skin and want something that isn't too harsh! I am thinking about delving into the world of Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel though, any thoughts? For evening time though, I don't think I'm going to stray from The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil for quite some time, I love this, it removes make up so easily, and leaves the skin feeling so clean!

A brand that made a huge appearance last year was Zoeva, and something that I will continue to purchase is their brushes, and I think I may even prefer some of them over Real Techniques..! The quality of these brushes are fantastic, they're so soft and wash up really well which is always a bonus and you wouldnt expect this for the lower price tag, and with collections such as the Rose Golden both Vol 1 and 2, these brushes are so luxurious to look at! Honestly if you haven't tried these brushes out yet, I highly suggest that you do!

I'm someone who prefers to wear eye shadow over lipstick, and so it's rare that I do my make up without even a little bit of eye shadow on! But oily lids are work of the devil, and sometimes I kick myself for not buying this product sooner, but I don't know how I primed my eyelids before having the NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in my life! I will forever repurchase this.

If we were to rewind back to a few months ago, I would have told you that the ABH Brow Wiz was work of the eyebrow God's, and honestly, I still believe this! But if you want something that is a little bit cheaper, and does pretty much the exact same thing, look no further than Soap & Glory's Archery pencil which only has two shades to choose from, but I'm starting to think that the blonde shade is a better match for me than the Ash Blonde shade from ABH!

I don't think that there's a beauty blogger out there who hasn't tried the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and although not everyone will love this concealer, I can't count how many repurchases I have made! It's the one concealer I can rely on to be light enough for my skin shade, and be able to cover both under eye circles and blemishes which for me makes this one a clear winner! And you really can't complain for the particularly small price tag! 

The last item that I would definitely buy again are Urban Decay eye shadows, I have five palettes from this brand and I love every single one of them, the eye shadows are buttery and so easy to blend out, and because I love neutral shades, I feel like you can't really go wrong with a naked palette! 

How many of you have holy grails that you will repurchase again and again, if so what are they? I'd love to know!

Abigail

xo