Tackling Problem Skin

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Hello!

I've been quite lucky with my skin in general as apart from the odd hormonal breakout during my teenage years, I've never had to deal with acne.

I would say that I have combination skin: an oily t-zone and dry cheeks and I do have issues with sensitivity. Unfortunately, over the past few weeks my forehead has erupted into lots of lumps and bumps and blocked pores. I'm not sure why this has happened but I've tried a LOT of products to try and get rid of them as they're driving me mad!

Before I start detailing the products that I've been using I should confess that I am a squeezer, I love it! But I know that its not good for my skin so I have been trying to limit the squeezing sessions as hard as it is!

My outbreak began when my skincare routine consisted of an Aveda face wash, Sanctuary pore refining toner, Indeed serum and Chanel Hydra Moisturiser. I don't think that any of these products have caused the breakout, however I do think that my quest to keep wrinkles at bay may have added extra grease to my skin resulting in blocked pores and a shiny face.

I recently decided to try and combat my problem with a brand new routine and visited the Clinique counter. I know people either seem to love or hate Clinique but I have used their 3 step system previously (about 10 years ago) and loved the outcome. So that is why I decided to go back.

Firstly, I thought the service was great. I told the assistant what I was after and she sat me down to talk through my skincare woes and hopes. She put all of my information into an iPad app in front of me and told me the products that would work best for me.

I bought the Mild Liquid facial soap which I use first thing in the morning with a hot flannel or muslin cloth and at the end of the day after removing my make up with The Body Shop cleansing oil. It promises to be non drying and its great, my skin never feels too tight after washing.

The second step is Clarifying Lotion in number 2. I know a lot of people don't like this because it feels very astringent on your skin, but for me at the moment its exactly what I need to exfoliate and clear up my pores.

Step 3 is Dramatically Different Moisturiser + which I apply after cleansing twice a day. I didn't like this at first because I found it quite greasy, I think because it's a lotion rather than a moisturizer. But, I've started using less and this seems to be working much better. The assistant did tell me that because I have combination skin, the lotion wouldn't be enough on its own but I've found that it's just right. I think if I applied another moisturizer after that one I would end up resembling an oil slick.

I bought all 3 products in the medium size and it came to just over £60. I think considering the Chanel moisturiser that I was using was £55 alone, that's not a bad price! I think that the clarifying lotion will run out first but it will still have lasted a good couple of months, if not longer.

At the moment I do still have a few lumps and bumps popping up on my head but I can definitely see a difference, they are calming down. My skin feels smooth and I'm finding it easier to apply make up. I would recommend using a flannel or cloth with the cleanser as the assistant demonstrated how much more easily the products sink into the skin after exfoliation.

So, if you fancy mixing up your skin care I would without a doubt recommend giving Clinique a go. And, if you're worried about forking out a load of money and having a reaction, the assistant said you can bring your products back and receive a refund no problem.

Thanks for reading,
Becky xx

Benefit Advent Calendar

Hello! I can't believe it's nearly Christmas, where has the time gone?

 A product that has made my countdown to Christmas very enjoyable this year is my Benefit Advent Calendar which was an amazing surprise present from the husband. 

So here are the details about the products that I found behind the doors of my candy coated countdown...

A Few Favourites

I've been really pleased with the make up samples that I have received as they are quite decent sizes that will last a few applications. Some old favourites that I've found hiding behind the doors are Benetint, Posie Tint, That Gal brightening primer, Ooh La Lift eye brighter, They're Real Mascara, It's Potent eye cream, Total Moisture face cream and The Porefessional primer.

New Discoveries 

I understand that part of the reason for Benefit bringing out an advent calendar is so that customers can try new products and hopefully go on to buy the full sized versions. I'm a make up sucker so will probably be doing just that! Some new discoveries for me are Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer, Stay Flawless 15 hour primer, Watt's Up highlighter, and the Ultra Plush lipglosses which I have in Dandelion, A-Lister and Fauxmance I'm particularly loving Dandelion and Fauxmance.

Random Other Bits

As well as beauty and skincare my calendar had also gifted me hair ties, post it notes, paper clips and a note book. The hair ties are quite cute but as I have short hair now I have no personal use for them. The stationary to me is a bit naff. You don't go to Benefit for stationary so I don't understand why it's in the calendar (apart from to keep costs down). Whenever I've opened a door that has some sort of stationary behind it I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. 

That said, overall I love this calendar and the variety of beauty samples I've received is fabulous so if you're thinking of treating yourself or a loved one next year you should go for it! - Hopefully they won't include so much naff stationary next year! 

Happy Christmas Everyone xx

New Products!

Hello! 

Well I'm not technically sure if these are new, new products but they are new for me so I thought I'd do some little reviews for you. 

1. Indeed Facial Powdered Exfoliator

My face was getting a little bit flakey and I'm not a huge fan of the exfoliant scrubs so I was on the hunt for either a chemical toner/exfoliator in one or something a little different. I found this in Boots and wow, wow, wow I love it! Basically it's a powdered exfoliator so you just wash your face as usual, then pour some of the powder into your hand, add a spot of water and foam up. You then massage it all over your face for about a minute before rinsing off. I use this about twice a week as part of my evening routine and my skin feels so much smoother and brighter since I've been using it. I bought this on offer at I think about £12 and I think it'll last me a good few months. 

2. Aveda Beautifying Set

I recently went for the best massage I've ever had- a chakra balancing massage. It isn't the type of massage I'd usually go for but my local spa was offering a massive 50% off so I went for it. Anyway, to cut a long story short they used some Aveda products on me and I found them to be really relaxing and luxurious with the most amazing scents. I decided to buy this set in my relaxed state but I'm so glad that I did! The set contains a creme cleansing oil which I use as a normal face wash with a muslin cloth. It's gentler than my favourite La Roche Posay cleanser but it's also very effective at cleaning off ALL make up. It also smells of lavender which is one of my favourite scents. 

The other large tube is a body moisturiser which again has a lavender scent and is the perfect texture for me. It's not too greasy yet soaks into the skin quickly leaving a beautiful scent and super soft skin. 

The third product is the beautifying composition which is an oil. You can use this in the bath but I don't often have baths so I've mainly added a few drops to the body moisturiser for an extra boost. Even though it's an oil, it's still not greasy. This set was a little pricey at just under £50 but you do get full sized, luxury products. I will definitely be trying Aveda products again. 

3. Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil

You may have read my recent eyebrow blog post and noticed that I have a difficult relationship with my eyebrows. Because of this, I'm always on the hunt for new products that are going to make my life easier when it comes to taming them. I picked up this brow pencil from Boots and I haven't used anything else in the last few weeks. It's a really thin brown pencil that allows you to build up your eyebrows bit by bit resulting in a very natural look. There is a brush on the other end to shape the brows and it's I nice sturdy plastic packaging. I also prefer this to my No7 brow pencil because it doesn't require sharpening so it's always ready to use. This was relatively inexpensive too so if you're on the hunt for a new brow pencil you won't go wrong with this one. 

4. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick

I've been eyeing up eye shadow sticks for a while and decided to go with this Bobbi Brown version because I love the colour which is Golden Pink. I tend to put a primer underneath and then apply the eyeshadow straight onto my eyelid before blending with a soft brush. This is blummin fab! It doesn't crease, lasts all day and is a fabulous colour. It's also great for a quick daytime look or you can apply with a crease colour to make it more dramatic for the evening. I shall be purchasing some more of these! 

5. Benefit Advent Calender

My lovely husband bought this Advent Calender for me and I've been blown away by the wonderful products that it contains. I'm planning to write a separate post on this Calender but if you get the chance to pick one of these up next year is recommend that you do!

Thanks for reading my post. Feel free to leave any comments! 

Becky xx

Unruly Eyebrows

This post is about an issue that's very close to my heart and just as the title suggests, it's all about crazy eyebrows.

Arghh!

Many a beauty blogger has shared that eyebrows are sisters and not twins, however mine are more like 2nd cousins twice removed and they drive me insane! Part of the reason is because I think that some of the damage was done by myself in my teenage years. Yep, I was a plucker  and I loved it! But I've never been great with symmetry resulting in the mismatched eyebrow issue that I'm still struggling with today. I'm writing this post thinking that many of you will relate to my problem and hopefully share your own pearls of wisdom. 

So, back to present day. I now get my eyebrows threaded about once a month/6 weeks. I love threading, I've had to look around to find the place that works best for me, but now I've found it, I'll be sticking with it and this is because they were honest with me.

 The first few places that I had my eyebrows threaded at we're ok but they just threaded away without ever saying anything about my mismatched brows resulting in more of a mismatch than ever. 

When I first went to my current threader, straight away she told me that my eyebrows didn't match, the reason why and what she was going to do about it. Hurray! And the amazing thing is she only charges £4! 

The issue now is that I need to let my eyebrows grow for as long as they can before I get them preened, giving more of a chance of the sparse bits growing back  and my eyebrows matching up. 

This means that the in between phase is horrendous for me so I do as much as I can to disguise the unruly hairs poking out in all directions and this is how I do it...

Use a good eyebrow pencil 

I've recently picked up my No7 Beautiful Eyebrows pencil again after a stint using my Sleek brow kit. I did enjoy using my brow kit but I started to feel that it didn't provide the definition that I needed and left my eyebrows looking a bit heavy. I love that I can build up my pencil and use the other side to comb my eyebrows into place. I also think that it's the perfect colour for me. I always start with my pencil on the thick part of my brows, closest to my eyes, I move the pencil in one direction -that's what makes you beautiful (see what I did there!- sorry bad joke,couldn't resist!) and  build up the colour in the shape of the brow. I then move along, filling in any gaps and adding extra colour to match up my brows as best as possible.

Use a highlighter on the brow bone

I hate the straggly hairs that grow underneath my eyebrows but as I'm too scared to pluck anymore for fear of butchering my brows, I do tend to leave them. I've found that a good way of disguising these pesky hairs it to use a good highlighter on the brow bone (a usual part of my eye make up routine anyway). I'm currently using Booty Call by Urban Decay. This is a shimmery pink eyeshadow that I sweep all the way up to my eyebrows. I think because it's shimmery, it catches the light which creates an illusion of a hairless brow bone (or just blinds people so they can't look at that area for too long!) 

Something I need to invest in...

Is a good brow gel. My eyebrows aren't particularly bushy but I can find that hairs move out of place during the day. A good gel will help to set them in place without going crispy. I heard that Anastasia and Laura Mercier do good eyebrow gels so I will be investing soon and I'll let you know what I think. 

So that's it. Not the most difficult of routines and I don't even know if I'm doing the best for my eyebrows but I thought I'd share. Please, please let me know of any products/tips that work well for you as I'm always on the look out for ways to improve mine. 

My eyebrow on a good day. The other was having a bad day...

Thanks for reading 

Becky xx

Cleanser, toner, serum, moisturiser... My skincare routine

I've written posts about face creams that I've tried in the past, but I've recently updated my skincare routine to now include a serum and a new face cream that I'm obsessed with so I thought I'd let you know about it! 

Cleanser

I'm still a big fan of a face wash. I find that a good face wash is the only thing that will remove all of my make up and will leave my skin feeling squeaky clean. I've tried a few but my favourite is still La Roche Posay Effaclar foaming face wash.  I use this morning and evening with warm running water and sometimes a flannel to help remove any dead skin. 

Toner

I don't think I've found the perfect toner yet. I recently bought The Sanctuary Pore Refining Toner and it seems to be ok. It smells nice and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight so I guess it's so far so good. I'm also desperate to try Pixi Glow Tonic which I'll be ordering from their website soon as I've heard lots of good things. 

Serum

Serum is a new addition to my skincare routine- I'm still not really sure what it does but as I'm approaching 30, I'm happy to try products that will hopefully keep the wrinkles at bay. I did try a tester of Chanel's Hydra Beauty Serum which of course was lovely but it is quite pricey. I'm a sucker for good advertising so I decided to try No7 Protect and Perfect Advanced serum after hearing all the hype about it. An added bonus was that I had a £5 off skincare voucher and I get 10% off No7 because I'm on the Boots contact lens scheme so it only cost me about £18, bargain! I've been using this serum for about 2 weeks now, morning and evening and I'm not sure that it'll keep me looking 29 forever but it does feel lovely on my skin. It gives a lovely velvety feel and works very well with my moisturiser so I think it was a good buy.

Moisturiser 

I think that this next step in my skincare routine is the most important. I've been using Chanel Hydra Beauty Creme for about a month now and I think it's great. It's quite a light cream but that means it's not greasy, it smells fresh and gives a perfect base for make up. I loved Clarins Multi Active Day moisturiser too but that is slightly heavier than the Chanel cream which resulted in a few breakouts. I paid £55 for the Hydra Beauty Cream but a little goes a very long way and I think it will last a good few months. I think it's a very good investment that I will definitely purchase again. Just remember when you're moisturising to also include your neck and to work in an upward motion to avoid dragging the skin down. 

Eye Cream

I usually just apply eye cream in the evening and I'm still loving Clarins Eye Contour Balm. It's not too heavy and soaks into my skin quickly. A quick tip: use your wedding ring finger to pat in your eye cream as that one gives the lightest touch around the delicate eye area. 

So that's it! It seems like such a lot now I've written it down but I think it is so important to look after your skin and this routine is really working well for me at the moment. If you do have any skincare tips or product recommendations please let me know. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Becky xx

My Updated Evening Make Up

I've recently gone for the chop and because of this and as we are well into Autumn, I've decided to make some changes to my make up. 

This post is about an evening look with dark eyes and berry lips. 

Step 1: After the usual cleanse, tone and moisturise I apply Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as a primer. 

Step 2: Then, using my fingers I blend in Chanel's Aqua Vitalumiere foundation all over my face making sure to blend in at the neck. I'm still loving this foundation, it gives the perfect coverage for me. 

Step 3: I then use No7 Instant Radiance concealer to cover the dark circles under my eyes. I just dab it on and blend in with my fingers. 

Step 4: Next, I use Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on any lumps, bumps and blemishes again, blending with my fingers. 

Step 4: To set my foundation I apply a thin layer of No7 powder in translucent using a Front Cover Cheek brush. 

Step 5: I then apply the best bronzer in the world ever, Chanel Bronze Universal to the hollows of my cheeks, temples and nose. 

Step 6: I'm still loving the Sleek Brow Kit that I blogged about many moons ago. I fill in any gaps using the wax and set my eyebrows using a small amount of the powder. 

Step 7: I'm still obsessed with my Urban Decay Naked 2 Pallette and I use my Front Cover Fluff and Buff brush to apply Booty Call all over my eye up to my brow bone. I then apply Verve to my lid using the same brush and then using a Front Cover Point + brush I add Pistol to the crease and underneath then eye.

Step 8: My Kiko black eyeliner is the best I've ever used, I never feel like I'm dragging it across my eye as it glides on so easily. I apply this to my upper lids and to the water line.

Step 9: I curl my eyelashes using my No7 curlers then quickly apply a thin layer of Dior Lash Maximizer before applying Dior It- Lash Mascara. 

Step 10: I then apply Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power using my Real Techniques Blush Brush and Sleek highlighter using a small blusher brush.

Step 11: The final step is the application of No7 High Shine Intense Lip Crayon in Sultry Kiss. It's a lovely berry colour that's perfect for winter and as it's the shape of a crayon is really easy to apply. 

And there you have it, my autumn, smoky evening look. It's not the best photo but let me know what you think! 

Becky xx

It's been sooo long!

Well I'm going to start by saying to anyone that does enjoy reading this blog I'm very sorry for the lack posts. In between moving house and being very busy at work I haven't had much spare time to write anything. But I'm settled and back! 

My post today is all about some favourite products that I've been using over the past month or so. 

The first is a lovely exfoliator called Angels on Bare Skin from Lush. This is basically a putty in a pot, you take a scoop out, add a bit if water and rub over your face. It took a while to get used to as it kind of feels like you're rubbing something from the garden over your face but when you rinse it off you reveal clean, soft and fresh skin. If you fancy an exfoliator that's a bit different and feels good for you then I would recommend this. Oo it smells good too! 

My favourite foundation at the moment is Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua. After running out of Dior Airflash, I decided to give this a go and I'm so glad I did!  I use the colour 3 and it is blummin amazing (even better than Dior!) You need to shake the bottle before application as it's water based and it's quite thin but I've found that a little goes a long way.  I think that the best way to apply it is with my fingers for an even coverage. It's a very light foundation but provides just the right amount of natural coverage for me and paired with my Chanel bronzer (see previous blog post) my skin glows. I love it! 

I was very lucky to receive an Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette for my birthday (thanks Katie) and I have used it everyday since without fail! I absolutely love every single colour in the palette but my favourites are Suspect and Snakebite (beautiful together) and Chopper. I'm using my palette for an evening look tonight so watch this space for a tutorial.  

The final product that I'm recommending in this post is an old favourite that I've re purchased after a couple of years without it. It's Benefit's dandelion face powder and it's lovely. I use this as a very subtle blusher as it's a nice light pink with some very subtle shimmery flecks in it. I find to get the coverage I like I need to apply a few layers to the apples of my cheeks but even after a heavy application, it gives a very natural flush, perfect for everyday. I also quite like the cute little brush that it comes with. 

So that's it for my favourites this week. I'm about to start my make up for this evening which I intend to blog about next. I chopped a good few inches off my hair today eek! so I'm looking forward to experimenting with my make up as I feel new hair warrants an updated look.

Thanks for reading

Becky xx