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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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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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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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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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