Tuesday 31 July 2012

Good Things - Deep Pore Anti Blemish Cleanser


I have quite oily skin which is prone to blackheads and blemishes, and have been looking for a cleanser that could help. I came across Good Things Deep Pore Anti Blemish Cleanser in Boots and have been using it for a couple of weeks now. It has extracts of fig and wild strawberry giving it a light, fruits of the forest fragrance and you can really smell berries. It does leave my skin feeling clean and noticeably clearer, but my skin did start to feel tight a few minutes after so its a good idea to moisturiser quite quickly afterwards. When you pour the liquid onto a cotton pad,it foams slightly so you really don't need much at all, just 3 drops per application is enough. You get 200ml in a bottle so it will last for ages. Good Things have a wider product range that includes both face and body products which are pretty reasonably priced. I will definitely been exploring the rest of the range http://www.goodthingsbeauty.com/

Thursday 19 July 2012

Budget Beauty - Cocoa Skin Therapy Oil


I picked up this little treat on a whim on a visit to my local pound store and will definitely be buying it again. Its a body oil containing Vitamin E and Cocoa Butter which claims to improve the appearance of stretch marks, scars, dry skin and ageing. I have been using it for a couple of weeks and it makes a lovely moisturiser, for very dry skin. My knees, elbows and feet are problem areas for dry skin so this has been really handy. Sometimes Cocoa Butter products can smell a bit sickly but this one wasn't. It still has that slight whiff of chocolate smell but its not over bearing. It's great as a massage oil and it comes in a 50ml bottle so handy to travel with. Bargain!

Monday 9 July 2012

Holiday Shopping

I am off to Ibiza in September and I absolutely cannot wait! This will be my first holiday in over 12 months and to say I am in need of break is an understatement to say the least. I am terrible at shopping for holidays. I tend to leave it all to the last minute and get more excited about buying miniature beauty products than beach wear. This time round I'm determined not to spend the weekend before my holiday running round Topshop looking like a deranged sweating animal, desperately hunting down swimwear that won't leave me looking like Peppa Pig. Oh no, this year I am going to be organised, and I have already started - yay me! After a few hours traipsing round my local shopping centre, I impressed myself by picking up a few bargains.

This dress/tunic from Primark left me baffled and bemused when I saw it on the hanger. There was a rail full of them on sale for £5 and I'm not surprised they weren't shifting. At first glance I just couldn't work it out. The hanger was placed in the middle of the loop, leaving it looking like a very asymmetric and impossible to wear dress. It didn't help that the hanger string (you know - that little loop of black thread on the inside of tops/dresses so you can hang them up properly - hanger string - that's what I'm calling it) was on the opposite side of the non-existent shoulder. Fail. After taking it off the hanger and rotating it several different ways, I realised it was actually a one shoulder top. I was wearing black leggings at the time which went quite well together. Just need to add some wedges for a sexy clubbing outfit - good to go.



I am in love with this beach wrap. Just £12 from Matalan! I can so see myself wearing this with a floppy beach hat and monster sized shades, strutting about like the diva my vodka self thinks I am. It nips in at the waist with a drawstring to hide any post burger bulge of which I'm sure there will be many.



Here is the material in close up

Weekend Manicure

Don't hate me - but sometimes I just love rainy days. Admittedly not when I am partying and have spent 2 hours blow drying and straightening my thick, stubborn frizz, but if I have no plans, and it is windy and raining outside, I love being snuggled up on my sofa in the cosy warm. Throw in a bit of thunder and lightening and I am in seventh heaven. Rather than continuing to moan about the miserable weather, with no plans for my Sunday afternoon, I decided to indulge in a home manicure. Here are my tools:





I started of by cutting and filing my nails. You can see from this pic just how dry and flaky they were.

  

I then used a base coat and you can see the difference this made

Next was this gorgeous polish by Essie which was a freebie from Lastminute.com who were giving out samples as part of their spa promotions on Friday. Oh how I love a freebie, and I just love this colour!


Next up was a top coat. I used Seche Vite which is a bit expensive but totally worth it. It makes your nails look uber glossy and colour lasts a lot longer. A quick spray of Elegant Touch Rapid Dry and voila! Here is the end result.



Wednesday 4 July 2012

June Beauty Empties


Empties

These are all of the beauty products that I have got through this month:
Clockwise from left:
Mitcham Advanced Control Deodorant in Powder Fresh
Doo Gro - Grow Repair Conditioner
Imperial Leather Aqua Therapy Bath
L'Oreal Nutri Soft 24 Hour Velvet Body Lotion
Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub
Dove Shea Butter Soap
Dove Pro-Age Hand Cream
My favourite product has to be the L'Oreal Nutri Soft 24 Hour Velvet Body Lotion. It smells fresh and feels light but still does a good job of moisturising which makes it ideal for the nasty humid weather we are experiencing at the moment. I'm usually not very loyal to body lotion brands. I mostlychoose moisturiser based on the cheapest that smells nice and suits dry skin. This one ticks all my boxes so when I spotted it at half price in Superdrug, I bought it in bulk. I'm down to my last bottle so went on the hunt for some more but they were out of stock. Please don't let it be discontinued!