Super Lazy Sunday

Hi Guys

How are you all doing? So its Sunday and the boy and I are having a pretty lazy day, I'm getting all caught up on blog posts and youtube vids as I missed so much with having no internet for a few days in the new house. I'm still going through the youtube vids that I have missed out on but before I carry them on I thought I would still post up something on the blog.

What I thought I would share with you today is some of my recent Instagram snaps showing you the simple things of what I have been up to the past few weeks. Now if your anything like me I am rather addicted to Instagram. Out of facebook, twitter and Instagram its the one app I cant live without. I usually post up pics everyday usually one or 2 pics if I see something I want to share with you beauties.

Row 1 L-R: Winston not being very helpful packing, white chocolate bunny as a little treat, Gordee and I had noodles one night for our dinner I love the bowls we have :)

Row 2 L-R: Essie nail polish in Peach Daiquiri, lovely bunch of flowers our friends Mark and Lyndsey brought round to the new house, my amazing panda socks!

Row 3 L-R: Clarins minis I got as a freebie after a facial, morning routine while being off work is a cuppa green tea and read my Harry Potter book, my favourite new candle smells so good.

 

Row 1 L-R: pic of my friends Katie and Karen and I getting ready for a night out, little Winston and his teddy Cuddles, Selfie on my birthday.

Row 2 L-R: pic of Winston and I, my amazing birthday cake my ever so talented friend Karen baked, some items I treated myself to on my birthday.

Row 3 L-R: my first experience with macaroons, I am loving these lip butters I got as a birthday present, after all the birthday celebrations and packing the flat a lovely treat of cake and tea.

 

 

Hope you have enjoyed this post, what have you guys been up to this weekend? anything fun and exciting or has it been a nice chilled out one?

 

Also if you guys are on Instagram I'm over at SparklySJ, leave me a comment if your on Instagram and what your username is so I can have a peek.

 

Love you guys

 

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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My Morning Skincare Routine!

  

Hello you beautiful lot

I thought I would show you guys my morning skincare routine, I have pretty temperamental skin that can be oily, sensitive and dry but these products I have been using recently as part of my routine have sure done my skin some good. I haven't had any random patches of dry skin lately or had any recent break outs including allergic reactions. At the moment I have some pretty happy skin which makes a very happy SJ!! So I figured why not share with you beauty's what I use.
 
So to start off when I'm in the shower I use Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 deep purifying cleanser £8.00 to waken up my skin I use just one pump and work it into my face using circular motions and then wash off. Once I'm finished in the shower I use my Cetaphil cleanser £8.99, Yes I use 2 cleansers but I like the soap and glory one to waken my face up in the morning and then I use Cetaphil for cleansing properly, you don't need to cleanse twice this has just worked for me. For the Cetaphil I either use one pump and work it into my skin then rinse off or I use one pump on a cotton pad massaging it into my face.

Once I have double cleansed I then tone using The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner £8.00 using just a small amount on a cotton pad working round my face. For the eyes to keep them hydrated and fighting away those pesky wrinkles I use Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream £2.54 where I use just a small amount dotting it around the eye area massaging it in. I finish off with my Superdrug Vitamin E Day Cream £2.99 I dot this cream on my chin, forehead and cheeks then working it into my skin, this stuff smells lovely and is super moisturising I love this range its so cheap and great to my skin.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post.

Catch you all soon

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Lush Ocean Salt Face Scrub

Aloha Beautiful people :)

Hope we are all doing well and enjoying the start of the month that is February. Todays post is all about one of my favouritest favourite face scrub! It is Lush's Ocean Sea Salt Scrub!

Ta Daaaa!

Now this lovely black pot of holidays is a scrub that I have used for years! Not the same pot obviously, I do get through a pot in a couple of months plus they do have expiration dates with them containing fresh ingredients in them. The other night I was using this and thought "SJ why the heck havent you raved about this in your blog?" So here it is.

"Lashings of fine sea salt to scrub and clean, organic limes to brighten and avocado butter to soften your skin" is a quick run down of some of the ingredients used which is mentioned on top of the pot. 

" Does your face feel washed up and abandoned? Get it ship shape with coconuts and lime" is written on the side, it already sounds like my kinda scrub as I love coconut!!

                  L: The label on the side of the pot    R: Texture of the product

I love a face scrub, getting rid of dead skin leaving you with fresh clean skin. This product however is different to any other scrub I have used as it contains Sea Salt! It is rich in minerals and does a damn good job of scrubbing away those dead skin cells. The salt is mixed in with lovely avocado butter, coconut oil and seaweed absolute. Another ingredient used is Grapefruit which is commonly used in products for oily skin and for spot prone skin it is also high in vitamin C. So it doesn't just leave your skin feeling lovely soft and smooth it can also help treat breakouts.

When you first take the lid off a lot of the salt is sat on top of the product, some of the salt granules can be quite big in size that I stick my finger in and just mix it all together in a clock ways motion otherwise the product at the bottom will be mostly the butter. The smell of this is amazing!!! I called it the black pot of holidays cause the smell instantly takes me away to being on holiday lying by the pool with a fancy cocktail in my hand soaking up the sun (one can dream). The limes used have been steeped in vodka hence the day dreaming in the sun with my fancy cocktail so the combination of the vodka and the citrus just smells deeeelightful! 

What the product look like all mixed together

I use this scrub once or twice a week, I wash my face then use about a 10p size amount and scrub it round my face in circular motions. The texture is creamy with the butter and you can most defiantly feel the granules of the sea salt, when first opened it has bits of blue but once mixed together I find it doesn't have much colour. Sometimes the vodka can sting if I have a cut on my finger so watch out for that. Once I have done that I wash it all off, it does leave my face rather red from the scrubbing and a little tingly from the alcohol so I usually use it at night giving it time to calm down. I will then cleanse and moisturise. My face the next day always feels so soft and smooth. 

This product might not be for everyone but I do love it, its a cocktail for the face! You can get it in your local Lush shop or if your like me and don't have one near by there is online click here. You can get it in 2 different sizes 120g for £7.25 or 250g for £13.25. I have the smaller size and I feel it lasts me a long time. You can also get alcohol free ones.

Have you guys tried this scrub or any lush products? Do you have a favourite that you use all the time? I would love to read your comments.

That all for me today hope you guys enjoyed this post :)

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Super Facialist By Una Brennan Clay Mask

Hello Everyone hope you are all doing well and having a good week?

So a few weeks ago I blogged about a few recent Boots purchases you can check it out here. Some of the products I had never used before and I did say that I would review them once I have tried them out. This post is going to be all about the Super Facialist Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask By Una Brennan (what a mouth full) its in a 125ml tube and it costs around £8.99.

With this product I wanted to try it out a couple of times before I reviewed it. Now I'm not sure about you guys but I like to have a face mask once during the week mainly a Wednesday and then I have another at the weekend usually a Sunday. I just find it lovely and relaxing I tend to just lie down on my bed for 5-10 minutes after applying the mask just chilling out or I'm having a nice soak in the bath listening to some chilled out music with some nice smelly candles burning away.

Now with the Tea Flower Deep Clean Mask (we will call it that for short) what appealed to me was that on the front it said that it was " A detoxifying mask to unclog pores and restore skins balance" I figured with the nasty cold weather my skins been faced with recently it could probably do with a good restore in balance. When I then carried on reading the back of the tube I discovered it also contained salicylic acid which has been proven to help congested skin and I can suffer from time to time I thought Bonus! Then you read on to see that its Dead Sea Mud is rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron!!! Could it get any better?! Yes! it most certainly does it also contains avocado oil which is also rich in Vitamins A,D and E!! I couldn't help myself I was looking for a new face mask and this was bursting with so much potential. 

Front & Back of the Tea Flower Clay Mask 

I have been using this mask now for about 3 weeks now so that's about 6 times I have tried it out and its safe to say it does not disappoint, I am in LOVE with this mask. With all it's lovely ingredients it smells gorgeous and it leaves you with such soft skin. I tend to use mine in the evening, I take all my make up off with my cleanser even if I don't have any make up on I will still cleanse it before applying the mask. It has a nice thick creamy consistency its not a very flattering colour with its green grayish clay haha I try not to put it on when Gordee's home but when I do have it on I do get some funny looks from the cat. It does say to apply a generous amount so I like to slap it on my face then just lie back and relax even the smell of the clay makes you feel more chilled out. I always love the feeling of the masks hardening on your skin that way I feel it is actually doing something, once my times up and the mask has hardened I go and wash it off with warm water. Taking it off can be a bit more time consuming I usually soak my flat surface face sponges and move it round in circular motions rinsing out the sponges a couple of times inbetween to get all the mask off. Once its all washed off boy does my skin feel super duper soft and smelling bootyfull!!! I have also noticed quite a difference in my skin using this mask it looks a lot healthier and feels it too. Could not recommend this enough. 5 stars from me :)

Its a thick and creamy clay mask and it smells loverly!

Me all masked up with a silly looking face :P

Have you guys tried out this mask? What did you think of it? or is there any other masks that you could recommend I would love to read your comments.

In the mean time have a lovely day!

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Make Up Make Up Everywhere!!

Hello you beautiful bunch!

So in my Favorites of 2013 post I mentioned how I plan on being a bit more adventurous and try out different things make up wise. As much as I do love skincare I do also love make up, however I tend to just stick to the same brand and stick to the same routine. Well that's us now into the month of January and so far I have bought I few new items to try out. I have stuck to high street shop items to start with.

Here they are ready and waiting to be tried out.

So to start I thought I would try out a few different foundations, I do still love my No7 Beautifully Matte foundation but I figured I am now a blogger why not have a few different ones in your make up drawer that you can pick from. So I picked up the L'oreal True Match Foundation £9.99 in shade Golden Ivory, this foundation is aiming to give the most natural looking skin that's true to your skin tone that you can achieve a fab coverage without caking. Sounds great I thought why not get the True Match powder £8.19 in the same shade as well, it will be great for setting the foundation or even if I fancy a day off from wearing lots of make up I can just sweep a bit of this powder on and get on with my day.

Now we are on to Concealer, I have seen a few bloggers mention that the Seventeen Range in Boots had a bit of a makeover and released some awesome new concealers so I thought I had better get down there and try one. Phwoarr Paint has been described as the dupe of Benefits Boi-ing and at £5.49 you would be mad to not give it a go. Its a cute little pot that's lid flips open that on the other side of the lid is a little compact mirror and the base holds the concealer. Its got a rich creamy texture to it, I got mine in the shade fair for me pale skin. This will be fab for late nights and early mornings to hide those pesky under the eye bags. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 was in Tanya Burrs favorite things in 2013 vlog, now if this is Tanya's favorite concealer than that's it already sold for me. Its supposed to give fab coverage to imperfections and blemishes, also with any redness and can last all day without needing to re touch it.

Another item mentioned in Miss Tanya Burrs Favorites from last year was the Rimmel Match Perfect Foundation £6.99 mentioning how it gives fab coverage, nice healthy glow, easy to blend I could not not give this bad boy ago. I have recently seen it on a few other blogs mentioning how amazing it is, it had to be bought. Also reading up on it mentions how it has advanced smart tone technology aiming to give you a flawless look in any light. Sounds perfect!!

For a new primer I heard someone in Boots mention how they found the new Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser £7.99 very similar to Benefits Porefessional I was rather intrigued to try it. Having tried the Benefit Porefessional comparing Baby skin to it is a big compliment. It has a clear gel texture to it where the Porefessional did have a slight tint to it all its aims are very similar to vanish pores giving a smooth soft surface to the skin, a perfect base for foundation perhaps?! 

Lastly we have the Maybelline Eye Studio Master Shape Brow £2.99. I had mentioned in my favorites post that I am starting to get the hang of filling in the brows. I have been using the HD Brows palette which I received in a beauty box for about £16 which was filled with treats the HD Brows palette being one of them. The palette retails at about £20 so I am going to try and let it last me a very long time. So for days when I feel a little lazy I thought this nifty pencil should do the job just fine.   

So that's the start of my new things to try out, as you can see I'm starting just with base make up first. I have linked all the items mentioned with a website (Boots) you can go on, to either buy or get a bit more information on, they are all linked at their prices. I plan on reviewing all of the items so keep your eyes peeled out for those.

Have you tried any of these or is there something you would recommend? I want to try out some new looks for eyes and lips.

Lovies
SparklySJ
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My Favorites of 2013 Part 2!

 Hello, and Welcome to My Favorites of 2013 Part 2!

This post is going to be all about the make up and nails. I am rather dull and boring when it comes to make up however I am going to try and be a bit more adventurous on that side of things next year and not be afraid to try out new things. So lets get started on the make up items I have been loving this year.

Face

So its always good to start off with a good base. I'm talking Primers. I tried quite a few this year and I do like to use my Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver for this, another close favorite has to be the Rimmel Fix and Perfect £6.99 I just find this stuff perfect for a make up base, it holds my foundation perfectly. I did also do a little blog post on this beauty which goes a little more in depth to check it out click here. Now for foundation I have 3 to pick from which was rather difficult so I thought sod it I will put them all in as I love all 3 for different reasons. Revlon ColorStay £12.49 this stuff appealed to me from the start being for oily to combination skin, being oil free it helps to control shine and aims to give you that flawless look. This was the first foundation I bought this year and it is probably going to be one that I will continue to use. I loved the coverage of it, I love that it lasted pretty much all day, the match to my skin tone was perfect, I just loved it. When my Revlon foundation was coming to an unfortunate end I thought I would be adventurous and try out a new one, for that I tried out the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation £12.95 another oily to combination foundation created to balance oil production and help improve skin, I cannot fault this lovely item at all. It gives a medium to full coverage, it lasts a long time throughout the day. I used the match made service so the shade is perfect for my skin tone again its one I will probably repurchase. I done a post on this foundation and the matching concealer, if you would like to review my ramblings more into detail on this product click here. Lastly of the foundations is the much raved about Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation £8.99 I purchased this foundation on a whim in the summer time as I had a slight tan and my everyday Revlon one was a tad to pale for me. Being at such a reasonable price I thought this will do me fine for the summer. I wasn't wrong. Designed to awaken the skin and give you a healthy radiant glow, it does not fault. It gives you  a nice light coverage, not too heavy which is perfect for that suns heat and contains an SPF 15 so it also protects your skin as well as given you a lovely natural glow. Recently I blogged about my skin not having a good time that I had to cut back on wearing my foundations due to an allergic reaction. I turned to a BB Cream to help put my skin back on track but give a bit of colour along the way. I turned to my Dr Jart Regenerating Beauty Balm £14.00 designed to help cover any blemishes and redness while letting the skin regenerate. This was just what I was looking for at the time. I forgot how much I loved this product, it really did help me feel less self conscious of the redness from the reaction and improved my skin within a week or so. If you want to read the post I done on this BB Cream click here. Once I done my foundation I like to add a subtle hint of colour to the cheeks and I use my Revlon Powder Blush £7.99 in shade Smoky Rose which is a lovely light pink, I just sweep it on the apples of my cheeks to make me feel more alive.

Eyes

I noticed this year a heavy trend going round in beauty and make up was brows!! Now I have a full fringe. So to say I neglected my brows is an understatement, however over the past few months I started to give bit more attention to them. I'm still not 100% confident on them but I am getting there. A few months back Latest in Beauty got together with Glamour magazines Beauty Editor and they created a box of wonderful treats. One of these treats was the HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette in Foxy. The whole box only cost £14.95 and I believe that this palette costs alone £19.95 so that's a bargain already! As a newbie to the whole brows look I have been giving this item a go over the past month and I am surprisingly enjoying it. My fringe is growing right now and kinda sweeps to the side, so I kind of need to make sure they look a little decent as you can see just the one, which sounds odd but it doesn't look it....I hope. I use the medium shade and slowly outline my eyebrow then fill it in. I don't want them to look too obvious and I like that it gives a nice natural look. If anyone is interested in the Beauty Box the link is here. Or if you would rather just check out the palette I found it on amazon here. Mascara will always be my Avon SuperShock I have been using this stuff for years, I do try others but none impress me as much as this one. I get asked if I'm wearing false eyelashes or if I have lash extensions whenever I wear this mascara its that good. As its from Avon the price can tend to change in each campaign with any offers so heres the link to their official shop site. I done a blog post on this mascara also so if you want to see what I'm talking about click here. Eyeliners, I have cut back using these in the past month just for a bit of a break to the eyes. That and I am just hopeless at it haha it takes me ages to get liner just right. However I do like the L'Oreal Super Liner with its sponge tip to do the top lash line bitty, I have still not mastered cat eye but I am getting there. This stuff does last all day or night if I'm wearing it to go out, it is a pain to remove so I would recommend an eye make up remover. I cant seem to find the one I bought on the boots site but here's the link to a very similar one in colours blue or purple which I am tempted to try out. Nice change from black. My favorite pencil eye liner that I use for my waterline has to be Benefit BADgal Waterproof Eyeliner £15.00  it lasts all day and hardly smudges. There is a smudger at the other end if you want to use this liner for the top lashes and smudge it out for a bit of a smokey look. I did mention that only use mine for my waterline, being a bit on the pricey side it does last a long time.

 One thing I have particularly enjoyed this year when it has come to make up is applying it using the right tools. I cannot recommend Real Techniques Brushes enough, there are just the best brushes I have ever used. I started off with the Core collection then added the stippling brush, powder brush and the blush brush. I do intend on getting more as I love them that much. They just give such a lovely flawless cover and they are so soft to the skin. I wash mine about once a week with johnstons baby shampoo to get all the used make up off so I start each week with lovely clean brushes. To check out the range of Real Technique brushes here's the link, Samantha Chapman who created these lovely brushes also has a fab YouTube Channel with her sister where they do fantastic make up looks you can check them out here.

 

I fell in love with the brand Essie in February when I discovered the most gorgeous pink shade of nail polish that I had ever seen, in the name Lovie Dovie it had to be bought. Since then I bought 2 more shades, I recently bought the base coat and at Christmas I got the Winter Collection which I will review about soon. Essie has such beautiful shades of polish I want them all!! I do like to paint my nails I just get rather frustrated when they don't last and a day or 2 later they are all chipped but when I use my Essie polish it can be known to last me a week without chipping! Happy Days!! I am planning on adding plenty more to my collection, I have already spied a few new future buys. Keep your eyes posted on future posts with which ones I get. If you want to check Essie out here's a link to their official website. For removing nail polish it has to be Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover £4.99 you just pop your finger into the sponge twist it in for a couple of seconds, remove finger and bosh! nail varnish gone just like magic.

And there you have it! That is all of my favorite beauty things for 2013, I do wonder what will be my faves for next year. I am planning on broadening my make up ways so here's looking forward to the future!!

Hope you all had a fabulous Hogmanay!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Lets see what 2014 has to throw at us. :)

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Favorites of 2013!!

Heylo!!

I cant believe that we are so close to the end of 2013 and closer to starting 2014! I don't know about you but I feel that this past year has just gone flying by. So with that in mind I thought I would do a post about my favorite products I used and loved this year! As I only started blogging at the end of October there will be products that I wont have mentioned before so this gives me the chance too let you know on what other lovely things I have enjoyed this year.

 So to start we have my bathroom items:

For body lotions I have enjoyed many Soap and Glory items, mainly the Sugar Crush Body Butter £10.50 I love the thick luxurious consistency of this body butter and the smell is so lovely and zesty. Another popular lotion was my Body Shop Mango Whip Body Lotion £3.00 this stuff is not only super moisturizing it smells amazing!! I bought this the body spray and the little bottle of perfume so i could layer the smell and it lasted all day, whenever I smell it now it reminds me of summer adventures with Gordee.

At Cleansers we have the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish £14.75 the is jammed pack full of natural ingredients its gentle to the skin and removes stubborn make up perfectly. My everyday cleanser has to be my Cetaphil £8.35 I just love this stuff, its fragrance free and does not irritate my skin.

I had to add the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub £5.50 for perfectly soft smooth lips plus it tastes yummy.

On to the skin 

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver £14.00 is still very much a staple in my morning routine, I love that it wakes my skin up in the morning, prepping me up for another day. I done a full blog post on this here. For my moisturiser I have tried a few different ones however I always go back to Superdrugs Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream £2.99 its thick and creamy, smells beautiful and is packed of healthy vitamins which I feel has really helped heal my skin from scarring and keeping it healthy looking. For a full review on this I blogged about it here. My night time moisturiser has to be the Soap & Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator £13.00 to start it smells of peaches! and its super moisturising to the skin. Since using this my skin has felt a lot more plump and looks a lot healthier. I featured this in one of my first blog posts and go a bit more in to detail about it here. And lastly where would I be without the Origins Super Spot Remover £14.00 I would be a spotty stressed out mess that's where I would be! This stuff has well and truly impressed me and without a doubt I will continue to purchase. For a full review I blogged about here.

Lastly hair!

I cannot live without a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo £1.48 my hair can get terribly greasy so in the days between washing this stuff is a savior. Making my hair feeling fresh and lasting another day. This year I have really cut back on drying my hair with a hair dryer and letting it dry natural when it dries naturally it tends to go wavy at the ends. I used to find this frustrating but this year I decided to embrace it, I spray a little bit of Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray £6.50  to the ends to add a little bit of texture. Before I wash my hair I like to treat it once or twice a month with a VO5 Hot Oil £4.29  just to give it a bit of a boost with moisture, it always feels silky soft and shiny after I use one.

So that's the end of my favorites of 2013 part 1 hope you wonderful lot have enjoyed it, part 2 will be shortly with my fave make up and nail treats. Whats been your favorite products you have used this year?

Lovies 
SparklySJ
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Spot of Bother

So I don't know about you guys but coming up to the festivities can lead to a lot of eating naughty treats, drinking some cheeky drinks and if your anything like me can cause a little stress with the present shopping. With all these things going on my skin sometimes can have the odd break out. So in today's post I'm going to share the 2 items I have been using over past few weeks to help combat any spots that come creeping up!

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil & Origins Super Spot Remover

Origins Super Spot Remover £14.00 this stuff is an absolute must have! Its a light clear gel that you dab on the blemish area. And the salicylic acid in it helps to speed up the healing of the spot along with Skin-calming Caffeine and Red Algae which help calm and relieve any irritated skin redness. It really does both those things it reduces the size of the blemish and it most defiantly calms any redness I had around the blemish area. The only thing I would say is that it can dry out the area a little so once its all dried in I usually slather on the moisturiser. It is in a very small 10ml bottle but you only need a small amount so it can last you along time. Worth the money!

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil   £15.00 (rollerball mini) I mention how much I am loving this stuff in my winter skin care items post which you can read here. I do usually apply this stuff after I have used the Origins Spot Remover once the blemish has gone down in size and redness is less angry looking. Oil is a great way to combat congested areas which is what i can sometimes suffer from which then leads on to a break out. However I find using this after a break out it calms it right down or at the early signs of one the break out isn't as nearly as bad as it could have been. I have almost finished my little rollarball bottle and I'm seriously considering on investing in the 30ml bottle that's £30. Sounds like a lot of money but I have noticed such a difference since using it and when you notice something working thats good for the skin why the heck not splash out and treat your skin!

There you have it my 2 spot treatments that I am loving at the moment to help combat any breakouts.

Hope you are all sorted for Christmas and feeling all festive!!!

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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My Winter Skin Care

Hellooooo!

When it comes to Winter I don't know about you but my skincare routine changes quite a bit. My poor skin gets all dry and sometimes from all the Christmas shopping stress I can suffer from the odd breakout. So with that in mind todays post I will be sharing with you lovely lot is which products I use to combat these problems.

Here we have my Cetaphil Cleanser, Aloe Vera Gel, Balance Me Facial Oil and Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturiser!! All my holy grail winter skincare.

 
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser £8.99, this stuff has to be one of my top favourite cleansers. Its a perfect daily cleanser for dry, sensitive skin. I love the fact its soap free and fragrance free which is fab for the rather sensitive skin types. You can use this on a cotton pad and just wipe away the excess or you can massage it into your skin then rinse off with water. I use mine to remove my make up with a cotton pad and then rinse away. It leaves my skin feeling lovely soft and clean.

Aloe Vera Gel £3.99, this product can help soothe, moisturise, soften dry skin, can be applied to stretch marks, dry or chapped skin and skin irritations. With all these aims of a product why wouldn't I use it! I find it especially helps with my skin being sensitive or after I have had any skin allergies this stuff seems to do the trick. After cleansing my skin I apply a thin layer all over my face to help soothe any irritations and moisturise. I have been using this for few months now and I can now not live without it. 

 

 

Balance Me extra care facial oil £15.00, this is a new edition to my winter skin care. This little miracle worker was in the Latest in Beauty Glamour Edit Box which was filled with lovely and amazing treats I got last month. Its packed with 100% natural oils and its aim is to bring back radiance to skin that's looking rather dull. Now I have oily to combination skin so the thought of putting oil on oily skin seems really odd but it can actually help the skin as oil is a fab way to combat those congested areas. It smells heavenly and leaves the skin feeling lovely and soft. I use this every night after applying my Aloe Vera Gel I roll it onto my face and neck let it soak in a bit then I apply my moisturiser.

 

Superdrug Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream £2.99, as a sufferer of rather dry skin I like my moisturiser to be quite thick in the winter times. Now this moisturiser aims to give 24hours moisturisation. Its rich in natural vitamin e, high in antioxidants and defends the skin against environmental damage and aging. Also included is a skin conditioning multivitamin complex of a variety of vitamins combined with horse chestnut extract which is created to help care for dry skin. The smell is amazing it reminds me of holidays (suntan cream) and my skin is always soft and smooth, I use this every morning and at night just before bed.

 

That's all my wonderful treats I have been using over the past month or 2 to help prevent my skin from going crazy with the winter weather. Saying that the temperature up here in Scotland the past few days has been weird and warm, how crazy is that?! Considering its December we usually have snow by now.

 

If any one is interested in the Latest in Beauty Glamour Edit Box which contained the Balance Me facial oil here is the link :)

 

What's your winter weather skin care routine? 

 

Hope you guys have enjoyed this post comment below, I would love to read them.

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Elemis FreshSkin Skin Clear Overnight Serum

Hi Guys

Skincare can be an absolute nightmare, especially when it comes to what skin type you have and what products can help. I know for a fact that my skin is sensitive, and oily/combination and I thought I would share with you lovely bunch some of the products I swear by. Todays little treat is on a serum I use when I suffer from a bad skin breakout.

Elemis FreshSkin Skin Clear Overnight Serum £17.99

 

A while back I was suffering with a pretty bad breakout and I was desperate to try anything that would help. I was browsing through Superdrug and came across the Elemis FreshSkin range and the Skin Clear Overnight Serum was just calling out to me. The products aim is to de-clog those pores, shrink those nasty spots, reduces the swelling and the redness. All without causing any sensitivity (always a big plus for me). Not only does it do all that its packed with anti-oxidants properties that aid skin repair and help minimise post blemish imperfections! Well that was me sucked right in, I had to buy it and see if it would help.

 

It is save to say that this is now in my range of items that I go to when I'm going through a breakout, I love it that much. I notice that the redness calms down a lot, my skin always feels really soft and looks lot more radiant. Now you can use this in the morning as well as at night, on its own or under moisturiser. I use mine at night time after I have cleansed my face, I apply a thin layer all over my skin then once that's soaked in I apply my moisturiser.

 

I do notice such a difference when I use this product and I would recommend anyone who was going through a bad break out to give it a try. To some £17.99 might be a tad pricy you can always look online to see if can be found cheaper, I got mine on a 3 for 2 skincare offer in Superdrug. The amount you get in a bottle is 30ml however you do only need the one pump of serum each time you use it and I only use this when my skins at its worst so I can defiantly say that it is worth the money and lasts a good long time.

 

Is there any skincare serums that you cant live without? leave me a comment if you like, or even just say hi, I do love replying to them and discovering new blogs.

 

Hope your all having a lush weekend

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Highend Vs HighStreet TAG

So earlier on this evening I received a tweet from the lovely Heather at http://b3autyjournal.blogspot.co.uk/  asking if I would take part in a new TAG she created over on her blog . I was really happy she asked me to do one, my first TAG!!! So here it is

 

I have chosen to do my Highend Vs Highstreet on Skincare, Heather done hers on MakeUp however my skincare collection overtakes my make up these days :)

1. What is your favourite high end item?
Oooo this has to be my Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser, I got this stuff last year at Gatwick airport, I had about 4 hours to kill for my next flight so Duty Free was just heaven. I had a really bad break out at the time so I went to the Demalogica counter, the staff was so helpful and really analysed my skin. They came to the conclusion my skin is oily to combination with areas of congestion. I use this when my skin isn't at its best in the morning and at bedtime, the cucumber and sage really help soothe away the redness and my skin always feels refreshed and soft. It also doubles as a face mask which is a lovely extra treat. I had the 250ml bottle at £27 but I have to say its well worth the money, I have only just finished it and I will most defiantly be purchasing it again.

2. What is your favourite high street item?
This has to be my favourite everyday cleanser Cetaphil, this stuff is just amazing!! My skin has over the past few months been super sensitive, I have taken a few allergic reactions where the skin on my face has dried up, swelled, itchiness and red. So I needed a cleanser that was really gentle to the skin I also heard this was good for acne which was a bonus for any bad breakouts I had. It doesn't strip the skin, doesn't have much a smell, can be used on most skin types, removes make up and moisturises it is my holy grail product. Its only £8.99 for a 236ml bottle.

3. Name one high end item that was a disappointment/wasn't worth the hype
For me this has to be Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions 3 Step System £30, this set is aimed to give fast and effective treatment to blemished skin. You get a cleansing foam, a clarifying lotion and a clearer moisturiser. For a while I suffered with acne, I'm not going to lie I was so self conscious of it I tried so many different products to treat it when I seen this 3 step system I thought I found the cure to all my problems. The first few weeks it seemed to be working a treat, however after a month or 2 of using it my breakouts were getting worse and my skin just seemed pretty angry at me I had to stop using it. I read so many reviews on how good it was so I was rather disappointed that it didn't work for me :( but hopefully it really has worked for others.

4. Name one high street item that surprised you in terms of how much you love it.
This is a rather odd one, its Aloe Vera Gel 100ml for £3.99 from Holland and Barrett. From having a previous allergic reaction that left my skin so dry I was recommended to give Aloe vera gel a try and my god is this stuff amazing. So amazing that I use it every night after cleansing and before moisturising. It soothes and moisturises the skin, helps dry, chapped skin, stretch marks and skin irritations. It is another must have item I need in the bathroom cupboards at all times.

5. If you could only buy high end or high street for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
This is a tough one as I would normally say high end from the quality of the product however I am finding the high street is catching on and doing many alternatives to the high end products, for that I'm going to choose High street :D

6. What are your best dupes?
The No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make Up Remover at £8.50 I'm pretty sure this is a dupe of the Clarins Instant Eye Make Up Remover £17.00 in the sense that you shake it to mix both parts of the lotion. You just shake it then tab it on cotton wool pad hold it on the eye area for about 10 seconds then wipe away the days make up. I love this stuff, for my dry sensitive skin it works a treat and doesn't irritate my skin!

7. If all of your skincare disappeared, what would be the first 5 products you repurchased (high end or high street)?
Oh gosh well my Dermalogica Cleanser would be the one high end product, Cetaphil, Aloe Vera Gel, Sudocream and my Boots own Simple Sensitive Moisturiser would be my high street products so mostly high street.

8. What is your favourite brand overall (high end or high street)?
Its actually the Superdrug Vitamin E range, my skin always feels pampered using these products and they smell amazing, my mum loves this range and got me into it. Their moisturisers are so lovely to the skin I always have a pot in my bathroom cupboard for when I'm needing that extra boost.

So there you have it, you can tell I'm quite the beauty product junkie haha!
I hope you guys have enjoyed this, feel free to do your own and then comment with your link so I can read them :)

SparklySJ
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images used from weheartit.com

Dr Jart Regenerating Beauty Balm

So recently my skin has decided to turn to the naughty side, I have had some type of reaction round my eye area that the skin around has turned a little red and dry, along with patches of redness and the odd blemish here and there. With this happening I haven't been wearing much foundation purely cause I do want my skin to breath and not feel all covered up. I rummaged in my drawers (teehee) to find something that would give me a bit of coverage to hide the redness but didn't feel too thick like a foundation but more like a moisturiser. Behold I found my Dr Jart Regenerating Beauty Balm 50ml £21.00 this BB Cream is aimed at doing a fab covering for redness and spots while helping your skin to regenerate.

 Dr Jart Regenerating Beauty Balm 50ml £21.00 

I forgot I bought this in the summer on a Boots 3 for 2 offer, I didn't use it much then due to the fact that a had a little bit of a tan and the shade of this is for more of the paler types. However it is now winter and I can fall under the pale category making this stuff perfect for me. It moisturises, it protects with an SPF 30, it calms and soothes the skin covering the redness and any blemishes however I would recommend a little concealer for any of those extra hard to hide spots.

 

It has a rather thick consistency like a thick hydrating moisturiser, a little does go a long way. I only use a small bit of this dot it round my face then I use my Real Techniques Stippling Brush £11.99 just in circular motions round my face if I feel I need a little more I will just a dap a little more of the BB Cream to those sections working it in the skin with the brush to help create a natural flawless complexion.

I have felt using this has helped my skin feel less dry and the redness is almost gone. Although this item is a tad on the expensive side a little really does go along way. You could always mix it in with a little foundation if the shade is too light.

Hope this helps you guys, if anyone else is having bit of skin drama due to this weather changing leave a comment below with what you have been using. I will also put up a post with the other items I have been using to help my skin survive these colder conditions.

Have a fabulous weekend

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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No7 Match Made In Heaven

A few weeks ago I ran out of my favourite foundation Revlon Colour Stay, now normally I would go marching down to Boots and purchase another bottle asap but instead I was rather adventurous and went along to the No7 counter and thought I would give the the Match Made service a go. This is where they take a little machine and place it on an area of you're skin (on your face of course) and it scans the area resulting in a perfect shade of foundation for you. I thought this is far to good to be true so I went along spoke to the lady on the counter, she assured me that we can also try a few little testers as well to see which one I found that better suit my skin type and shade. 
 

 
 
I explained that I have oily skin and can also suffer from the odd break out here and there, to this she recommended the Beautifully Matte Foundation £12.95 in my shade Cool Vanilla. This foundation is aimed to balance oil and minimise the appearance of pores. I thought that sounded fantastic the matte appealed to me also as I do work in a place that can get pretty hot and I didn't want my foundation dripping off my face. An even better pro to this foundation is it also contains salicylic acid to help unblock those nasty pores and help improve the overall condition of our skin. It gives a medium to full coverage which is fantastic, its hypoallergenic which I also find to be a bit of a pro too as my skin can be super sensitive and it has an SPF 15 to help keep our skin protected and is supposedly ment to last up too 14 hours wear time. I haven't worn it for longer than 12 hours but I have noticed that when I remove my make up at night it is still there. The texture of this foundation is lovely its not to thick and not runny its just perfect and a little does really go along way. When I apply it I use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush which was the Core Collection Set you can get in Boots or can find them a bitty cheaper on sites like Amazon or I heard Asda do them cheaper as well. The coverage I get using the foundation and the brush is lovely flawless look. I could not recommend this stuff more. 

                               No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation £12.95

Once I had the foundation I thought well I may as well get the Match Made Concealer £7.50 in same shade Cool Vanilla too so I'm all matchy matchy :D. The concealer is in a stick form that just twists up like a lipstick and it gives a lovely flawless cover to any little breakouts I have. I also use it to hide any bags under my eyes on days they look rather darker than normal. The texture is lovely and creamy its very easy to apply and is said to last up to 16 hours!

                               No7 Match Made Concealer £7.50

                         Concealer on the left & Foundation on the right

Now in the little town I live in believe it or not we happen to have 3 Boots stores all different sizes however they all stock No7, I went to the one in our little retail park as the counter is right by the window. Whenever I try foundations I test it along my jawline and then go outside with a friend or my mum and see if it matches my skin tone as I don't want the line of where my make starts on my jawline up to where it ends by my hairline I like it all to blend in well. With this stores counter being by the window I had natural light coming through which was better for me to tell that it did suit my skin not just in the stores artificial lighting but also in natural lighting as well. So my tip would be have someone with you who can help you out and check indoors and outdoors.

So if anyone reading this is coming to the end of their foundation and is thinking on trying something different that hasn't tried the Match Made Service I thoroughly recommend it. I am in love with these 2 products they work so well together and really do give me such a flawless coverage, they quite possibly will be my new must haves!

Hope everyone's having a lovely Saturday. Feel free to comment maybe you have tried a new foundation did you love it or even if you hate it? You can also follow me if you would like to keep up to date on any new posts :)

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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