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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Bye January! Hello February!

Waaaaahoooo!

 That's us out of January guys!! I actually feel that its gone pretty quick. Pay day has been and gone, the bills have been paid now we are skint again counting down the days till next pay day haha. 

I didn't do much in January really it was all about saving those pennies although I did get myself a few treats throughout the month, all in the name of blogging of course! If you follow me on Instagram you will see what I been treating myself to lately (click here --> SparklySJ). One thing I did get to do at the end of the month was go to Glasgow and see the band City and Colour! Hands down one of the best live bands I have ever seen. The frontman Dallas Green's (from Alexisonfire) voice is just amazing. I did have a wee visit to first aid about an hour in to their set due to being too hot and almost passing out. My own fault really as I hadn't taken off my jacket but a little sit down and some water I was fine and went back to watch them. Even caught my favourite song Two Coins (check it out on youtube here). Being back in Glasgow to see a live band got me all excited for next time, which is gonna be Katy Perry!! I am super excited to see her its only 105 days to go.

 I also got my hair done Yay!! I hadn't had my hair done since October last year so it was badly needing done. I went for a little bit of a change and went ombre! They lightened up my hair and removed the almost black I had in from last time then they lightened my ends and slapped on a warm brown tone on top. I love it! I think I might even go a little lighter in the summer months. Talking hair and beauty I recently purchased Lauren Conrad's book Beauty, what an awesome book! Full of handy tricks and tips its really inspired me to try out different make up looks. If i have any success with them you never know I might do a few tutorials!

So now that's us into February, I have a few blogging ideas for this month lots of skincare and make up!! I'm even thinking on doing a regular blog post every Tuesday with just little fun random facts?! Like what I been loving or hating that past week. Its also Valentines Day this month Gordee and I never got to spend it together last year due to him being up a mountain (work purposes) so I think we might go for a nice meal this year. I always find February to be a rather quick month probably cause its my birthday in March and I get excited for it. Whatever this month brings either it be good or bad I intend to always having a smile on my face and I hope you guys do to!

Is there anything you lot love about February? Any Valentines plans? love to read your comments :) till next time.

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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any images here that aren't my own are from weheartit.com 

I've always been dark with light somewhere in the distance

So we are already half way into January and what a quiet month it is! I recently heard on the radio this week that January is the time where people can tend to get all down and depressed and to be honest this doesn't surprise me. The dark nights are still coming early its cold and yuck outside and for some pay day feels so far away (just think 2 more weeks to go). 

The January blues is not something I enjoy and I am determined to be full of positivity banishing any negativity. I have had far too much negativity and worries in my life that its time to tell it to shove off and I'm moving on and bringing on the positivity, happiness and just enjoy life!!

In order to do all that I'm still keeping focused on small goals I set for myself. I write lists and tick it off as I go along, there's honestly nothing better than a checked off list :D (geek I know). I am reading my Highway Code and revising for my theory. I am also enjoying a good book. Organising to meet friends which is keeping me away from being a complete hermit, I am determined to keep the little social life I have. I am such a day dreamer I am looking for places to go on holibobs, I know it wont be till next year but there's no harm in looking plus the photos make me feel happy thinking of some heat and sunshine. I have been getting stuck into this blog reorgainisng it a little, coming up with ideas for future posts and taking lots of snaps. Gordee and I have been going for walks at weekend which I always enjoy as I feel the cobwebs blowing away and feeling all fresh and re-energized! 

My top tip to keeping those blues has to be keep yourself busy but have fun doing it, have a laugh with friends even if your skint you can always go to each others houses, go out there and get some fresh air by going for a walk, escape somewhere into a good book, clear out your wardrobe giving things to the charity shops (making room for the summer wardrobe;) ) have bubble baths and listen to some awesome music maybe even try and get to a gig.

I was surfing through weheartit and came across some images which have inspired me.

Don't let people get you down by their negativity be happy, do what you dream of doing. We only have 1 life we need to live it!

Hope this post has cheered some of you guys up and inspired you to kick away that January blues too :) However I just want to say if you do feel that you are suffering from Depression you should speak to someone its amazing the amount of help that's out there these days.

Smile!!

Lots of huge fluffy hugs and lovies
SparklySJ
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images used are from weheartit.com 

A Dash to Boots

Bonjournoooo!!

How are we all doing? Hope your good and happy, keeping to those resolutions ;)

So few weeks ago I was feeling a bit of the blues, I know crazy it was not even January and I was already feeling a bit of the blues. So in a way to cheer myself up a bitty a went along to Boots and got myself some treats. I thought I would share with you gorgeous lot what I got.

As you can see I bought my trusty Cetaphil Cleanser £8.99. I fancied trying out a new face mask and I have heard lots of good reviews on the Una Brennan range especially the Super Facialist Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask £8.99 aiming to clear the skin of excess oil and toxins I thought sounded good enough for me, after all the eating of lovely treats and amounts of wine that has been drunk my skin could be doing with a good deep clean. I have only used this once since bought so far I loved it. In my job I do a lot of cleaning that my poor nails get all chipped and can end up looking in such sorry states sometimes. So with that in mind I decided to invest in Essie's Nail Base Coat in Help Me Grow £8.99 it contains argan oil and algae extract which help protect, prevent nail damage and breakage.

As I was heading to the counter to pay Real Techniques caught my eye with buy 1 get 1 half price. Well it would be a crime to just ignore that offer so I picked up the Powder Brush £12.99, I have only used this a couple of times so far and my gosh is the brush big but so soft to the skin!! Gives the perfect finish for powder. Along with that I picked up the Blush Brush £9.99 which was my half price one. Again this brush is super soft and applies the blush perfectly. I mentioned these brushes in my favorites of 2013 post here, they are the best brushes I have used. I'm so happy to add these 2 to my collection. 

These most defiantly made my blues feel less royal blue and more baby blue, once I got home the pjs went on and I chilled out with a cuppa tea, bliss!!

I love going into Boots and having a wander and a nosey at all the things they have to offer. I love buying new items too and going home testing them out, so look out for reviews on some the products mentioned in this post.

Hope you enjoyed this post, where is it you go to de-blue and cheer yourself up?

Lovies
SparklySJ
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Essie Winter Mini Kit

Hi guys and dolls :)

How are you all this fine day?

So I'm not sure if I have mentioned my love for Essie nail polishes?! I have mentioned them in a few previous blog posts so if your new and haven't read any of my posts I LOVE Essie!! Well at Christmas the boyfriend Gordee done gooood in getting me the Winter Mini Kit  as part of my Christmas presents.

And there it is!!! 3 lovely shades to choose from, of course I had to go for 4 in the same shade and the 1 different so the sparkly one stood out :) 

So we have (LtoR) Shearling Darling, a beautiful deep red plum shade I used this for the base of the sparkly one so you cant really tell how beautiful this shade really is. Secondly we have Parka Perfect, which is a lovely almost blue gray shade (I'm rubbish at describing colours sorry) you can see I have painted it on all the rest of my nails. This is a really nice sort of everyday shade its not boring and not bright but its very eye catching when its on. I did have quite a few people ask me what colour it was as it is a rather odd shade to see. And lastly we have the bit of Christmas Sparkle in the form of Toggle To The Top. Now I love a bit of sparkle on a nail and I love colour sparkles on a nail, this is THE perfect colour festive sparkle! The colour of the the little bits of glitter is a very similar shade to the Shearling Darling which looks great with it being the base colour, yet when the light hits its full on sparkly red! Just Beautiful!!

Here is another snap of the box with my nails trying to get the best light to show you guys how lovely it is.

This cute little set is still available at Boots stores just now at £12.99 you can check it out here. 

Hope you are all well and keeping up the positive vibes this month!

Lovies
SparklySJ
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2014!

Hi Guys and a Happy New Year to you all, hope you had a fab Hogmanay and wishing you lot the best of times in 2014!

 

 Now that we are in January this is the time people start to think on new years resolutions and give it the whole new year new me thing, this never works for me. So instead of resolutions that I will never keep I'm going to set myself some goals and aims. I have written them down in my new notebook I got at Christmas from Gordee (Yay new stationary) so I can score them off along the way.

I thought I would share with you beautiful lot some of my goals for the year.
My first is this blog, I been thinking long and hard about what I want to achieve this year from the blog and have decided that as well as beauty/skin care items I'm going to try make up, show you guys what I use and how I use it. Any looks that I'm loving and how I achieve them. I'm also going to try and branch out a little and share a few fashion items and how I style them. Along with this I'm going to do posts about life in general and maybe a few random things I get up to (few weekend away trips are coming up too). With my list of goals I'm going to try and share it all with you on how I'm getting on with them.
Secondly is going to be reading! I do love to read however I always seem to get so distracted by new tv series's out on netflix or other rubbish that books tend to get forgotten about. However when I do pick up a book I love the feeling of being transported into different worlds and just getting lost into a right good book! One set I am determined to read is the Harry Potter books, I remember reading up to the third one when I was in school but never got round to reading the rest. I love the films especially with how dark they get by the end so I imagine the books must be better. I have bought myself a new book to read first which is also part of a set, the first one is called Rivers of London and its by Ben Aaronovitch it sounds really good, once I finish this post I'm getting myself a cuppa green tea and get reading.

    I also want to learn to cook properly, I do enjoying cooking proper home cooked meals but the thought of doing it makes me just go urgh! but once I'm stuck into it I really enjoy it. Gordee and I have both decided we want to eat a lot healthier and plan on sticking to that throughout the week as we both work weekdays but we will allow our self's treats at the weekends. We got a few cook books at Christmas so I intend on using them to help us out along the way. I might also put a few blog posts up if any are successful.With this in mind I also want to start taking multivitamins, I feel I'm lacking iron too so will start taking supplements for that. I will continue to drink plenty water (its nice with a slice of lemon or lime) and also still drink copious amounts of green tea (all those antioxidants) which is also nice with a slice of lemon.
  
When I was in my late teens I done art at my college, I only done it cause I couldn't get a job (being a high school drop out no one would employ me) and I needed something to do. One the subjects I enjoyed the most was photography. We were taught mostly the old school stuff in the dark room using lots of chemicals but we did learn a little on digital photography and this year I want to get back in to it. I'm currently saving up to get myself a proper camera and equipment along with the good programs for editing. This will also be good for taking photos for blog posts but mainly I want to just to enjoy capturing moments you want to never forget.
 

With these and a few others on my list (which I will share throughout the year) I just want to be happy. Gordee and I have a few adventures planned out which I'm very much looking forward too, we have family visits down to England, Gigs (did I mention Katy Perry), I'm turning 25 this year too!! I cant wait to see what to see what this year brings, I hope its a good one. And I look forward to sharing it all with you!

What do you have to look forward too this year? Do you have any goals set or resolutions for this year? I would love to read them.

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Images used are from weheartit.com

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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Nailed it!!

Aloha!!

So I know Christmas is over now (sad face), I hope you all had a fabulous day and were spoiled rotten with lovely and fantastic treats.

In my Christmas tag I mentioned how I had a nail look I wanted to try out and if it was successful I will share with you beautiful bunch.You be glad to know it wasn't too shabby at all! So here is my post on what I done to achieve my festive nails.

 A few months back I noticed these Nail Art stickers in the Avon book for about £3 and I thought why the heck not try them. I'm not the best at doing my nails but I figured I would try my best.

I noticed when I peeled the sticker off that there was clear sections in between the red stripes, as I was looking for the candy cane look I rummaged around my nail polishes I found a white polish that would be perfect.

 I started by using my Rimmel 5 in 1 as a base coat then once that was all dried I put 2 coats of the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in white.

Once the white was all dried I carefully peeled off a sticker then cut it down to size, placed it over the nail smoothing it out. Then filed it down.

Resulting in looking like this!! For my first time I thought i done not a bad job at all. I really enjoyed doing it as well, makes me want to try out some other ranges of Nail Art stickers.














And there you have it my festive nails!! They did only last 2 days but that's all I needed as I got more nail polish for Christmas that I was desperate to try.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if you had any fancy nail art I would love to have a nosey.

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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The Christmas Tag

 

Now that we are well and truly through the festive month of December I'm going to do The Christmas Tag, the lovely Freya over at Beauty and the Button done this and tagged me in it, you can check out her blog here. Now that I'm all in the festive spirit I figured why not do it now! So here we go, I answer 10 questions all about Christmas then to finish I'm going to tag a few bloggers I think might enjoy doing this.

1. What's your favourite Christmas song?
Oooo now I do enjoy a good Christmas song but one of my top festive tunes has to be The Pogues song Fairytale of New York featuring Kirsty MacColl. Whenever I first hear this song when its slow to start then all the instruments get going I'm like Yes!!! Christmas is coming!!

2. What's your favourite festive drink?
This has to be hot chocolate. I don't drink it much throughout the year, however when it starts getting cold I make sure that the cupboards are stocked up nicely with lots of hot chocolate sachets.

3. Any favourite Christmas films?
I have 3! First is The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton, this is one of my favourite films that I watch quite a lot more in December. Home Alone would be my second, you cant not watch this film at Christmas time its one of the best Christmas films. My third favourite is The Grinch! I love Dr Seuss and I think this version is so good Jim Carrey does such a good Grinch.

4. What's at the top of your Christmas wishlist?
I am going to be honest here I haven't actually made a list of things I would like and I'm not overly fussed either. I have given Gordee a few hints of some nice skincare or fragrance sets I would like but Christmas for me is about spending it with my family eating all that lovely food having a few drinks and having a laugh. This year is the first year Gordee and I will be spending Christmas together, so I'm excited that I get to spend it with him and my family up here in Scotland.

5. Favourite festive make-up or nail look?
This has to be dark lips, I love the barely any eye make up with a bold dark lip look. I do have a nail look which I am waiting to try a little closer to Christmas so I will be featuring that up on the blog.

6. Favourite outfit at Christmas? (LBD, Christmas Jumper, Pjs)
I live in my winter cosy pjs throughout December, unless I have to leave the flat then I layer up. I do have a Christmas jumper but I'm not wearing that yet till the last few days of work ;).

7. Play out in the snow or enjoy from the inside?
Defiantly enjoy from the comfort of my own home. I live in an area where when it snows it can really snow! I love looking outside and seeing a blanket of white, I do not enjoy walking in it cause I would hate it if I slip fall and look like an idiot!

8. Wrapping presents - love it or loathe it?
Ah! I loathe wrapping presents its so time consuming and I make such a dogs mess with it. I apologise to any of my friends reading this but yes your presents wont look the best haha.

9. Favourite Christmas food?
Mince pies! I love mince pies! I only have them coming up to Christmas times. Heat them up a few seconds in the microwave with a smidgen of cream, yummy.

10. What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
Spending it with the ones I love and having a lovely time together.

And there we have it.

Next up a few Bloggers I nominate to do the Tag
Bethany
Katrina
Steph

Enjoy guys!!

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Taking that face off!

Hello Lovelies

Now I'm not sure about you guys but coming up to Christmas means a few more nights out than normal along with the odd Christmas party. This results in many outfit planning, deciding what to have your hair like and what make up look to go for its all very time consuming yet it can be fun. However coming home (maybe a little bit tipsy) the one rule you should do no matter what state you might be in is take off that make up!! With this in mind I'm going to share what I use to take mine off.

Just these 2 beauties here is all I use when I'm needing to take off the evenings make up!

 

So if my make up look is more in the eyes I use my No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make Up Remover £8.50 first just to try and remove as much as possible, its dual action formula cleanses the area while removing stubborn make up and its Phthalmologist  tested so it is kind to the eye area. All you need to do it just shake it so the 2 formulas mix then dab a bit onto cotton wool pad, I place it on my eye for couple seconds then wipe away.

 

After I have done that I go for my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish £13.25, this stuff has been raved about on so many different blog posts and I have to say after reading all the fab reviews I too was sucked in to give it a try and it does not fail!! What is so amazing about this stuff is you apply it to your full face of make up (that's right dry skin not wet) then you massage it in circular motions round your face, its thick and creamy texture feels so lovely and gentle, and it smells so good as its full of natural ingredients like eucalyptus and cocoa butter. You then rinse your muslin cloth that you receive with your Cleanse and Polish with warm water, wring it out a little then just wipe away, leaving your skin feeling all clean and fresh!

 

Once I have done this I usually slather on some moisturiser, get myself a glass of water then head straight to bed.

 

I do find it a lot easier using these 2 items than having a whole routine to get through when I just want my bed! And its a lot better to your skin than just using a wipe.

 

What items do your use when it comes to removing your make up?

 

Hope you are having a good weekend, not long till Christmas comes now is it :)

 

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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Very Berry Lips

Hi Guys

So one of the in looks this season for lips is deep red almost purple berry shades! I'm going to show you beautiful bunch how I achieve this look using my Avon products.

To start off I like to scrub my lips using my Lush lip scrub in bubblegum (yum) to make sure my lips are smooth I then apply a little lip balm for a soft surface to apply the lip liner and lipstick.

I use the Avon colour rich lipstick in shade Deep Orchid and Avon ultra glimmerstick lip liner in shade Deep Plum.

 

On the right is the Deep Orchid lipstick and on the left is Deep Plum lip liner.

 

So to start off I draw round the edges of my lips with the lip liner.

 



I then shade in the rest of my lips with the lip liner.

 

To finish off this look I apply one slick of lipstick.

 



 

This has to be my favourite lip look this season, I find it works best with barely any eye make up just a slick of eyeliner and a dash of mascara and I'm usually good to go.

 

What's your favourite make up look for this wintry season?

 

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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The Forgotten Gem!

As some of you guys may or may not have noticed I mentioned in my post about the Dr Jart BB Cream that I had recently taken an allergic reaction which resulted on my skin being super sensitive so I really had to watch what I was putting on my skin for a while.

Well when I was doing my make up one morning I figured it best to not use my Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver as my primer, on the fact that it smells super strong of citrus. When my skin takes reactions and goes all dry I try to avoid any strong smelling products cause I don't want to irritate it even more. So I rummaged in my vanity case and I came across my Rimmel Match Perfection Fix & Perfect!! I forgot how much I love this product so I thought I should share my love for it with you lovely lot!

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro £6.99

 

This fab little product aims to smooth, restore, brighten, mattifies and protects all in a oner!! You can wear it alone or under foundation. I wear mine under my foundation so my make up has a smooth surface to go on. You only need a little bit of this and as its only in a little 30ml tube it does last you a long time, it is a white light texture, it does have a little scent to it but nothing too strong for us sensitive skin types. I do also think this helps my make up last on my face for a lot longer which is fab for me when I'm at work. I would defiantly recommend this stuff, plus its a good alternative to the high end priced ones which is also a bonus.

 

 

 

Is there any primers out there that you really love and cannot live without? comment below, or even leave a comment saying hi :)

 

Hope your all having a lovely week so far

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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