A Few Bits from Boots

This is probably going to be the least exciting blog post that I've ever written, but I'm in Boots a LOT and there's always little cosmetics that end up in my basket and it's about blummin' time that I blogged about them. 

The first product to tell you about is a heat protector that I've started using that seems to be doing the job ok (I'm not really sure how you tell with a heat protector but let's just say my hair is in quite good condition). It's Dove's Style+Care Heat Spray. I really like this because it sprays easily onto my hair, smells lovely and doesn't feel in any way heavy. I also think it was less than £5 which is great! 

I think I'm really late to the party with the next product which is the Tangle Teezer hairbrush, but better late than never! My hair is ridiculously knotty as it is quite long and thick and I do use a hair extension brush, which my hairdresser recommended, as the mixed bristles are quite gentle on my hair.  However, it doesn't always remove the tangles, particularly close to my scalp. I've walked past the Tangle Teezers a few times and love the bright colours that they come in. I was put off a little by the lack of handle but decided to take the plunge when I saw them for sale for £10.49. I've used this brush on dry and wet hair and I do quite like it. I prefer to still use my extension brush to get out the majority of tangles in my wet hair but I think the Tangle Teezer works better on dry hair. It doesn't make me cry, (my paddle brush reduced me to tears on quite a few occasions) or want to throw the brush against the wall, it's just great at removing tangles gently. A fab product! 

The next product is for anyone as lazy as I am when it comes to using a body lotion. I've blogged about The Sanctuary Body Oil before as it's a great lazy girl moisturiser but as my skin has seen a little more sun than usual, I needed to find something with a bit of extra moisture. That is why I picked up Nivea's In-Shower Body Moisturiser. I was a bit sceptical about this as I wasn't sure that it would moisturise as well as a lotion but I do think that it's quite good. You apply to wet skin after cleansing with a shower gel and then rinse off. It left my skin soft and without feeling too tacky, a great product if you haven't got the time to moisturise properly. Even though I do like this, I will still probably alternate with a normal body lotion, particularly as my skin is quite dry at the moment but it is great for those lazy days and is definitely better than using nothing at all. Another top tip is to use baby oil on wet skin after a shower, it can be a little bit messier but works just as well at keeping your skin smooth.

The final product that I'm writing about today is a new toner that I picked up as I've recently ran out of La Roche Posay Effaclar Toner and decided to look for something a little cheaper. I went for Garrnier's Refreshing Toner which claims to tone and brighten the skin. I've been using this toner everyday for about a week and I'm really happy with it so far. It doesn't feel as harsh as other toners that I've used but does still seem to remove any residue left over after cleansing. It also smells very fresh and I've had no break outs recently so it must be doing a good job, especially as I'm spending a lot of my time feeling grimy and sweaty at the moment. I bought this toner on offer and again I think it was under £5. I would definitely consider purchasing this again as it seems to be just right for my fussy skin. 

So that's it for my recent purchases, I hope this post was of some use and please feel free to follow me on bloglovin ( just search rsperrink.blogspot.com) or google+ I'm also on Twitter @bexadoodle.

Thanks for reading! Xx

My Holiday Make up Staples

Hello! 

So we've all been there, the weather is heating up or we've taken ourselves off abroad and we want to look sunkissed, beautiful and natural within the first 5 minutes of stepping off the plane (or is that just me?)

Well I can't guarantee that, but I can recommend some of the products that I use in the summer and some new purchases that I will be using in the warmer months. 

Foundation: 

When my freckles start to appear (my face doesn't tan) I either like to wear a very light foundation or none at all. The two products I've been enjoying the most are the No7 BB Cream and the Dior Airflash foundation (I know I regularly rave about this but it is a lovely light foundation for the summer) the only downside with this product is that it has no SPF.  I love the No7 BB cream because it looks very natural but leaves a smooth, dewy look to my skin and also has an SPF of 15. Plus it's very reasonable even before the £3 discount vouchers. 

Concealer:

I still get bags and blemishes in the summer so I do need to continue to use a concealer. I'm loving Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer at the moment as it isn't cakey but offers good coverage. 

Apologies that the photo isn't the best but these are well loved products! 

Eyes:

I don't like to wear too much eyeshadow or eyeliner in the summer. I just don't want to end up with sweaty panda eyes. I do however, like to give my eyes a wash of colour and I think bronze looks beautiful when you want to achieve that sunkissed look. A recent airport purchase was a Clinique Eyeshadow Quad in Morning Java. This is the first time that I've tried Clinique eyeshadows but I really like them. There's a highlighter, bronze, light brown and dark brown shade and they work very well together without looking too over the top. I apply the light brown all over the lid and the bronze in the inner corner of the eye and below the lower lashes. I use the dark brown eyeshadow as a liner on my upper lid, shove a bit of mascara on and hey presto! 

For an even easier eye look, I've just bought Maybelline's Colour Tattoo eyeshadow in On and On Bronze. The colour is a lovely bronze cream. It is quite metallic so I keep the application quite light in the daytime but it has a lovely sheen to it and works well with just a bit of mascara or a small amount of eyeliner on the upper lid.

Bronzer: 

A firm favourite of mine is Chanel's Universal Bronzer (and I'm glad after paying just over £30 for it!) I apply this bronzer to the parts of my face that would naturally catch the sun and I think it's amazing! So natural yet very effective. It makes you look as though you've been sitting in the sun all day. 

Cheeks:

When I'm wearing bronzer I don't always apply blusher. But on days that I do, I sometimes use the Nars blusher in Luster. This is a bronze blusher that helps to further enhance a tan. The other option is No7's Pop and Glow stick in Rose Blossom which is a pastel pink. This is a cream blusher which gives a natural glow to my cheeks that seems to stick around for a good few hours. 

Lips:

In the summer months I tend to favour lip gloss, particularly during the daytime. My favourite is No7 BB Lip Cream in Blush Coral. The cream itself is very nourishing and offers UV protection which is always a bonus. It's easy to apply and is fairly long lasting. The subtle coral colour also works really well with a tan. 

So that's it for my recommendations. Of course I still wear mascara and I have to tame my crazy eyebrows. My favourite mascara is the already blogged about No7 Exceptional Definition mascara in black. To avoid a shiny face I make sure that I apply a powder to set everything in place, I also like to use a highlighter on my cheekbones to enhance the glowy, sheeny look.

I hope that this post has inspired you to change up your summer looks, it would be great to hear of any other summer recommendations that you may have. 

Thanks for reading xx

My Summer Holiday Skincare

Hello!

I have recently been lucky enough to travel to Majorca for a long weekend with the girls and thought I would share some of my holiday skincare musts and also a disappointing product or two. 

I think the MOST important product when travelling anywhere sunny is sun cream. Obviously it protects the skin from burning but can also help protect from the ageing and harmful effects of the sun. My friends and I shared sun cream between us and went for Boots Soltan due to it being fairly reasonable and also having five star UVA protection. I've got to admit I didn't know much about UVA but my friend explained to me how harmful the rays can be, penetrating the skin much further than UVB rays. I was also surprised to see that most sun creams don't offer 5 star UVA protection. We chose 2 different types of cream from Soltan, the first was an invisible spray in factor 25.

I thought this product was very good as it wasn't sticky, smelt quite nice and applied easily. I also think that it protected my skin well and I didn't have to reapply it too many times throughout the day. I will definitely use this product again and would recommend it to anyone who hates that greasy feeling that comes with using a cream.

The second cream that we bought was the factor 15 spray cream.

*This photograph was taken from the website as I threw the cream away before returning home.* 

The cream itself was ok, again not sticky and seemed to offer quite good protection but I had one really big problem with it... the smell. My friends and I all noticed that when we applied it, there was a really strange smell and this is disgusting, but the only smell I can liken it to is poo! I know the scent shouldn't matter too much when you've found a good sun cream but it just made me feel horrible. I didn't want to use it at all. Also, because it dried so quickly, it was difficult to see any bits that I'd missed resulting in some burning. I wouldn't recommend this sun cream.

As well as the usual sun cream, I always have to buy a very high factor product as my shoulders only have to glimpse the sun before burning. For this trip I bought Soltan Baby 50+ sun cream.

This product was amazing! It offered extremely high sun protection, didn't need to be applied very often and didn't really have any scent. I know it's designed for babies but it did work wonders on my sensitive skin. Even though my shoulders were exposed for most of the holiday, there was not even a hint of pink. A must have product for anyone that burns easily. 

The final product that I want to blog about is a product that I recently mentioned on Twitter. This is a face cream that I picked up on offer in Boots for £2.99! (And I'm sure that's it's not more than £5.99 usually!)

This is the Garnier Moisture Match face cream with SPF 20. I used this at home for a few days before travelling and also applied this cream on my day of shopping on holiday when I was in and out of the sun. The cream promises to hydrate and illuminate the skin for 24 hours and I really like it. It's a nice light cream that absorbs quickly and works well with my foundation. I also found that it did protect me from the sun and it also smells really nice too. I'm not sure if I was glowing after applying this, but I do think that it's a very nice moisturiser for the price with an added bonus of SPF protection. It definitely rivals my Origins GinZing face cream (which doesn't have SPF).

So that was Part 1 of my holiday blog, it might not be the most exciting but I hope it was of some help. Part 2 will be all about the make up looks I went for as I love the beachy, bronzed, fresh faced look. 

Thanks for reading and don't forget that you can follow me on Bloglovin (there should be a button somewhere on my blog) or follow me using Google+. I'm also on Twitter as @bexadoodle. I really appreciate the reads and the comments. Thank you!

Becky xx

I went shopping again...

Hello! 

Before I start writing some product reviews I just wanted to let you know that I've recently filmed some videos for my upcoming YouTube channel so please keep a lookout for those, they're just in the process of being edited. 

Right, so yes, I went shopping, I didn't mean to, it just happened but I'm so glad it did! 

The first product that I bought was the Chanel Universal bronzer that I had seen recommended in another blog. This is a light,creamy bronzer that can be applied to the face and body. I have been using this bronzer daily over the top of my foundation and I think it is amazing! I had no idea how I would go about applying this bronzer but the lovely lady in Chanel showed me how to apply it with a kabuki brush wherever I want it. I did find that the kabuki brush was too big for me, especially when contouring, so I use a smaller blusher brush to apply the bronzer. I swirl it in and use it mainly for contouring and a little bit of bronzing on my temples and nose. I love this bronzer because it looks so natural and there are no shimmery bits which Is great for me as I like to use a highlighter instead. The bronzer cost £32 which I actually think is a really great price for a product that I think will last a long time. It also smells amazing! 

The second product that I bought was the Rimmel Lasting Finish colour rush balm in 700 Not an Illusion. Again I've seen this balm on a few blogs and I wanted to try it for myself. It cost just over £5 and I think that this is another great buy. The balm is in the shape of a pencil and it glides on the lips really smoothly. It is quite pigmented so leaves a lovely colour but also some shine (not as much as a gloss though). I find the colour lasts ages and my lips are also left feeling fairly moisturised. There's loads of colours to choose from but I went for this colour as I don't have a similar one and I think it goes great with the bronzed/gold look. A great product overall and a bargain price! 

The final product that I recently bought is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Cool Medium. This concealer has been raved about a lot so I thought I should give it a go, especially as it was less than £5. I use this concealer for under my eyes and on blemishes and it's great. I think the colour might be a little bit dark for me but when it's blended in it's fine. It gives a great coverage without being too chalky or cakey and I love that I can use it for eyes and spots. My only issue is that when you close the tube, a bit of product oozes out of the side which is really annoying because it gets everywhere and  looks a mess. But, for the price I think I might be able to overlook that! 

 I also bought some new eyelash curlers on my last shopping trip. I had been eyeing up the Shu Uemura curlers but at £20 thought they were a bit pricey. Instead, I went for the No7 metal curlers that are priced at around £7.25. They look great and come with an extra pad to replace after a year which I thought was a nice touch. An extra bonus was that when I went to the counter, I bought some other products and the sales assistant put those through first so that I could get a £4 No7 voucher to put towards the curlers. In the end they were less than £4! I think the curlers are great too they grip tightly and give a nice curl to my lashes that seems to last. I am very pleased with my bargain buy!

The last product that I want to mention is on my wishlist and it's a Jo Malone cologne. I recently smelt the Vanilla and anise scent and it is beautiful. It costs £40 for 30ml which is why I haven't bought it yet but when I sprayed it on my arm I couldn't stop sniffing it. It smells very unique, like most of the Jo Malone fragrances but also very rich and long lasting, absolutely gorgeous. 

Anyway that's all from me for now. 

Thanks for reading,

Becky xx

My first Mac purchase (and some other bits this month)

Hello again! 

I'm going to start today by talking about my first purchasing experience at Mac as I actually left the store with a product hurrah! I know there's lots of hype around Mac products and I always see them used in tutorials and blogs but I just don't enjoy visiting the store. I have been into the concession in Selfridges a few times and everytime I go it is heaving with people and the staff don't seem to have the time to look at you, let alone help you out with selecting products. Also, I find the layout very confusing and there are so many products, I could really do with some help when I go in there. Needless to say, I usually have a quick browse then leave empty handed. But this time I was on a mission! 

I have a serious blusher addiction and it's been a few weeks since the last purchase, so I decided to visit the Mac stand alone store in Birmingham to get a new pinky blusher. It's a small store but yet again there didn't seem to be enough staff for the people milling around. It was daunting, but I had to go it alone. I managed to find the blushers after a bit of searching and shortlisted a selection of 3 pinky tones. Luckily I had the lovely hubby with me who pointed out that one of the blushers had a shimmer (not what I was after as I like to use a highlighter instead). I finally decided on the Satin Powder Blush in Fleur Power. The colour is pinky but isn't too bright, it almost looks as though it has some orange undertones to give a natural flush. 

I did have to stand in a queue for a while but when I finally got to the counter to ask for my product, the sales assistant was very friendly. She also offered me a primer sample which I jumped at! I got a little pot of the Prep and Prime skin base for combination skin (you are given a choice depending on your skin type which I thought was a nice touch).

I used the primer and blusher for the first time last night and my thoughts so far are good. The primer made my skin feel like velvet, it really smoothed and perfected my skin ready for my foundation and worked well with my Origins moisturiser too. I'm also happy with my choice of blusher. It is quite pigmented so I didn't need too much, but it glided across my cheeks evenly and worked well with my Real Techniques Blush brush. It'll be my go to blusher when my lips are quite natural and I'm focusing on my eyes.

So overall my Mac experience was ok, I think because I knew exactly what I wanted I could go it alone but if I'd have needed help I think I would have left empty handed again. Mac need more staff! Here's the blusher and primer at work.

Another purchase that I made recently and briefly mentioned in a previous post is the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy face wash. 

I love my La Roche Posay cleanser but I fancied trying something different. I decided on Origins after recently purchasing (and loving) the GinZing moisturiser, I thought that it was time that I tried some of their other offerings. I had a great experience at the concession in House of Fraser. I told the sales assistant what I was looking for and how much I wanted to spend and she pointed me in the direction of 2 cleansers. The other cleanser was a GinZing product with exfoliating beads. She tried both products on my hands and I decided, as I still have my Clarins exfoliator, to go for the creamy cleanser. I've been using this cleanser for about 3 weeks and I really like it. It does exactly what it says on the tube, you only need a small amount of product as it is quite rich and when lathered on your face it creates a really creamy froth. It leaves my skin feeling soft and clean and it isn't too harsh, so my skin doesn't feel as tight as it can do with other products. My only gripe is that when I tone afterwards I do sometimes get a small amount of dirt coming off on the cotton pad. It is only a tiny bit but I never had that with my La Roche Posay cleanser. Maybe because it isn't as harsh it doesn't leave my skin quite as squeaky clean. Overall though I do think that this is a good product and I think it has contributed to my skin looking quite clear and soft at the moment (even if I do say so myself!) Oh and it was only £18 which I thought was quite reasonable. 

My final recent purchase is the Sensationail Fuse gel varnish in the colour intens-so-fly (is it me or is that a really random name?) 

I've seen a lot of minty greens around and I think it's a really fresh colour for summer. I also have short nails and ,this might just be me, but I think these quirky colours really suit shorter nails. I will definitely be wearing this colour on my holidays this summer. 

Finally I did say that I would tell you my thoughts on my Origins face mask freebies that I received with my purchase of the GinZing moisturiser a couple of months ago. 

I've used 2 of the pods and I think they're really good. They tighten up nicely on the skin and require a lot effort to remove with a warm flannel but they have left my skin feeling brightened and I've had no unwanted breakouts after using them. It also did a really good job of removing bits of dead skin that tend to hang around my nose (lovely) So another fabulous Origins product! 

I hope this post has been helpful. I'm still thinking of setting up my own YouTube channel too. It would be great to hear if this is something that you'd like to see.

Thanks for reading. 

Becky xx

Daytime Make-up Routine

Hello! It seems like ages since I wrote my last post so to make up for it I'm writing a super long one today. It's been lovely to hear from people who are enjoying my blog and I've had a few requests to do a post on how I apply my make up. I am in no way an expert but I do really enjoy putting my make up on and using tips that I've seen on other blogs so I thought I would share how I do things. 

Oh and bit of a disclaimer- there are some truly hideous make up free/semi made up pictures of me I am sorry but I thought this needed pictures to stress the point a bit. So here we go... 

Step 1: Here is my totally naked face. I had a wash with Origins checks and balances foaming face wash (a new purchase-totally loving it-it's like washing in shaving foam!) toned with La Roche Posay Effaclar toner and moisturised with Origins GinZing.

Step 2: The first thing I do make up wise is apply a primer. I do this most days because I like the way it smooths out and brightens my skin and helps my make up to last. Today I used the Benefit That Gal brightening face primer.

Step 3: I then apply my foundation. Today I have used my Dior Airflash foundation in 202 with the Dior 12 foundation brush. To apply I spray the brush with foundation, work it over my cheek, then spray and do the other cheek, then a spray for the nose and chin and a final spray for my forehead. I spend quite a long time buffing the foundation into my skin as I like it to look quite natural.

Step 4: Concealer time. I've dotted No7 Instant Radiance concealer in 2 under my  eyes and No7 Stay Perfect blemish cover in Medium over spots and imperfections (I've got quite a few of those!) I then blended these into my skin with a No7 concealer brush which I think works better than using your fingers as you're not adding grease to your face or wiping away the make up. 

Step 5: Eyebrows. The photo is a bit scary for this but it all works out in the end! I used the Sleek Brow kit in 818. Firstly I use the rounded brush to apply the wax - you don't need much of this just a light covering to tame the brows. Then, I use the angled brush with a very light covering of setting powder. I colour in my brows as mine are very patchy and are totally different shapes so it helps to match them up try and make them look related. Kind of. 

Step 6: I'm using my Sleek eyeshadow pallette today so have decided to use my No7 eyeshadow primer first to keep my eye make up in place (I don't need to use a primer with my Dior compact, might be a quality thing?) I just shove my finger in the pot and rub it all over my eyelids not going above the crease. 

Step 7: I like to use a highlighter on my brow bone. Today I've applied a small amount of No7 Instant Radiance highlighter and smoothed it over with my fingers just to give a subtle sheen.

Step 8: Next is eyeshadow. I used my Front Cover fluff and buff brush to apply Sleek's Calm before the storm all over my eyelid. 

Step 9: I then layered Sleek's Thunder Storm (which is a goldy shade) over the top and applied Dust storm (a dark brown) to the outer edge of my eye blending into the crease and also underneath my bottom lashes, from the outer corner to just before the middle of the eye and Thunder Storm from the inner corner to the meet Dust Storm. (Ramble, sorry).

Step 10: I ALWAYS wear eyeliner but for some reason I didn't put it on today... So I went straight to ny Front Cover eyelash curlers to give my lashes a bit of a boost. 

Step 11: Mascara. Today I went for No 7 Exceptional Definition mascara in black. I've had this mascara for a few weeks now and it's starting to thicken a little which I love! It volumises and lengthens my lashes even more than it did originally. Brilliant stuff! 

Step 12: To avoid a big, shiny face I used a little bit of the Clinique Gentle Light powder in 3 over my forehead, nose and chin with a fluffy 17 powder brush.

Step 13: I've started to enjoy contouring my cheeks a little. So I used the bronzer from the Sleek contouring and blush pallette with my new Real Techniques Blush Brush (less than a tenner from Asda and I love it!) I suck my cheeks in and apply the bronzer in the hollows and extend it to my temples and apply a little under my chin(s).

Step 14: After bronzing I used the No7 Mineral Perfection blusher in Soft Damson on the apples of my cheeks with  the same brush. I find smiling helps the apples to stick out a bit so you don't go overboard on the blusher. 

Step 15: It's all about the highlighter on the cheekbones now. I used the Sleek highlighter from the contouring pallette with my Real techniques brush just on the cheekbones extending up the temples. 

Step 16: My final step is my lips. Today I used Tanya Burr's lipgloss in Picnic in the Park. It's a new gloss and I love the colour. It is a very natural peachy pink but unlike a lot of glosses it is quite pigmented so you can actually see the colour. The Brucie Bonus was that it was only £6.99 from Superdrug and it smells lovely. 

And that is it! I unclipped and straightened my fringe for the final photo and here it is...

Thank you for persevering through some truly hideous pictures. This make up routine is a day time routine for me, maybe a little more than I'd wear for work but for a trip to the shops or a day out somewhere (we are really into our National Trust trips at the moment- old I know!) it's a perfect look for me. I hope that I was of some help and please let me know if you have any tips/product recommendations etc.  

Becky xx

Why I love shellac/gel nails

I've been meaning to write this post for ages as I'm a total gel nail colour addict. Those of you that know me will know that I am very rarely without colour on my nails and I'm not happy unless they are bright and beautiful!

I first tried shellac a couple of years ago. I heard that it had really good staying power and as I was going on holiday, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it out. I went to the salon and paid about £15 to have my finger nails painted in a nice bright pink colour. It all took less than an hour and I was impressed because the colour lasted a whole week  of sun, sea and swimming pool action. After that I became a bit of a regular at the salon, paying £15 every few weeks to have my nails done. 

That was until I saw an amazing offer in my favourite shop Boots (is there a post I've written that doesn't have Boots in it?!) they had the Sensationail gel starter kit with a colour and UV lamp on offer for about £50. I thought this was totally bargainous so picked one up and haven't used a normal nail varnish since. You need to set aside about 1hr if you want to do your nails properly but it is so worth it as, if you paint your nails following the instructions, they won't chip and can last for 2 weeks (mine have even lasted for longer than this!) 

The Sensationail colours are about £15 per pot but they will last ages and none have them have clumped like nail varnishes can. I have bought most of my colours from Boots but you can also get cheaper versions from the internet. I have recently tried two of the Bluesky colours which worked out at about £5 each. They're ok but the quality isn't the same as the Sensationail polishes. Excuse the terrible photo but this is my nail kit below. 

My main reason for loving the gel polish so much is that they last, I only need to paint my nails every couple of weeks. Also, with gel there is no waiting around for your nails to dry. You just pop them under the uv lamp to harden for up to 60 seconds at a time and they're done! Because you don't have to wait for your nails to dry, there is also no risk of smudging - there is nothing more frustrating than spending ages on your nails for them to smudge or chip 5 minutes later, argh! My nails also grow very quickly underneath the gel. 

The only problem that I have really noticed is that, if you are a bit naughty like me and don't remove the colour properly by soaking them in nail varnish remover (I pick mine off). You can peel off some of your nail, making them weaker than normal. I don't think that this would be a problem if you followed the instructions though. Oops!

So that is a little review on gel nail varnishes. I know there's lots of kits out there but I would recommend the Sensationail kit for quality and price. Also, if you've never had them done, try it at a salon first to see what you think. 

This is the colour that I will be wearing for the next couple of weeks which is Kitten Heel. 

I hope this post was useful. Thanks for reading!

Becky xx