May Favourites

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
As my skincare stash grows I sometimes forget about some of the things I really like. I hadn't used this serum for quite a few months but I dug it out of my drawers a couple of weeks ago and I don't know why I ever stopped using it. It is expensive but I've had this bottle for well over a year now and there's tons leftover. You only need a few drops each night anyway. Advanced Night Repair is intended to be an anti-aging product but I use it to soften my skin, even out my skintone and it also helps so much with my blemishes & scarring. Everyone needs to try this at some point in their lives!

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream
I'm not normally one for a sheer base product but as my closed comedones continue to disappear with the regular use of chemical exfoliants & facial oils I've not felt the need to smother my skin in so much foundation. This product was really surprising to me because the coverage is brilliant for such a sheer formula and the shade Very Light is actually light enough for my skin colour! I'll be giving this a full review soon but this is definitely my favourite base product at the moment.

Pukka Organic Castor Oil
I bought this because I'd heard that castor oil can help improve the growth rate of your eyebrows & eyelashes. I'd previously had a lot of success using Talika Lipocils when I used to overpluck my eyebrows & pull out my eyelashes (bad I know!) but I wanted to try something a bit cheaper this time. The growth isn't as noticeable as with the Talika product but it has helped with the thickness and overall condition of my eyebrows & eyelashes. As I researched this it was interesting to discover that castor oil has many uses. You can make something called a castor oil pack with it to reduce pains, scars and cysts within your body. Wish I'd known about this before I had to have half an ovary removed! I even used it to stop a stye in it's tracks so this is a really useful product to keep around the house.

Trilogy Organic Rosehip Oil
After falling back in love with the Clarins Lotus Oil last month I decided to try out the Trilogy Rosehip Oil. Embarrassingly it was actually a Daily Mail article which prompted me to buy it. Needless to say I love this oil too! After using it for a couple of weeks my scars have faded a lot already and my skin feels amazingly soft & hydrated. My face looks brighter the next morning after I use this and it balances out any redness. I haven't had as many spots crop up and it really helps with cystic ones under the skin. Using facial oils has dramatically reduced the amount of little bumps under my skin too. It doesn't smell as nice as the Clarins one but otherwise this oil is just as lovely.

Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter*
I love absolutely everything about this lip balm! The colour, the pigmentation, the staying power & the hydration levels are all immense. It gives your lips an incredible shine & makes them feel kissably soft. Really wish I'd tried these sooner!

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Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal Baby Lipstick

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal Baby Lipstick - £19.50

As much as I adore brightly coloured lipsticks, the shades I find myself reaching for most often are those soft baby pinks. They're just so wearable and appropriate for both day and night. Theres a plethora of lipsticks out there that fall under the 'my lips but better' category - a natural colour that adds a little oomph to your pout - but for me Estee Lauder's Crystal Baby is the ultimate. This shade is actually fairly dark and has a lot of brown in it which adds to the natural effect. This is more than your average nude pink, it has depth and dimension which gives the illusion of plumper lips. It's incredibly flattering because it is so close to being a natural lip colour. This is the kind of shade I think that every woman should own.

The Estee Lauder Pure Colour lipsticks have such an amazing formula. They have the most perfect creamy texture and just the right amount of shine. They simply glide onto your lips. I find them really moisturising & they feel so light to wear. It almost feels like a lip balm but with the staying power of a highly pigmented lippie. Crystal Baby normally lasts on me until I eat something but it does fade very evenly. Estee Lauder lipsticks also have a lovely slightly floral scent which makes them a real pleasure to use. Plus the packaging is just too pretty to ignore!

What's your favourite 'my lips but better' lipstick?

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Beauty Sleep

We all know that in order to look & feel our best we need on average 8 hours of sleep each night. But how many of us actually get that amount? Personally I tend to get about 6 hours because I often stay up past 1am reading my Kindle, browsing blogs or catching up on my favourite American TV shows. Its a bad habit I need to break because it leaves me feeling completely knackered the next day. Not only that but I look tired too & it takes an industrial amount of concealer to hide my dark circles. There are however several beauty products that work overnight to stop you from looking quite so awful. Heres a few of my favourite night time treats for teeth, skin & hair.

Pearl Drops Beauty Sleep
In the past I've used Crest White Strips to whiten my teeth with great success but I have heard some horror stories about the long term effects they've had on some people's gums. Beauty Sleep is a new serum for teeth that claims to gently whiten your teeth whilst also strengthening them & nourishing your gums. You just rub some onto your teeth using your finger after brushing. Its very very minty tasting & definitely leaves my smile looking brighter. I had a scale & polish the other day and my hygienist did comment on how healthy my teeth & gums were. This is something you'd have to use for a long time to see proper results but anything cheap that can whiten your teeth safely without the use of harsh chemicals is a must in my bathroom cabinet.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
I've tried quite a few facial serums now but the one I've seen the best results by far from has to be the classic Advanced Night Repair by Estee Lauder. Just a few drops of this golden liquid turns any basic moisturiser into a luxurious night cream that instantly makes your skin feel beautifully soft. Over time it makes your skin look brighter and reduces the appearance of fine lines as well as blemishes. It may seem pricey but it does last a long time as you only need to use a little bit.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask
If my skin is in desperate need of a moisture hit I often reach for this super hydrating mask. Its so thick yet it sinks right into the skin and works overnight to plump up your face. It doesn't make a mess on your pillow even though it doesn't really set like you'd think a mask would. This is another product you need to use a few times before seeing great results but your skin will definitely thank you for it. A special trick is to layer this up with some Hydraluron, goodbye dry & dehydrated Winter skin!

Alpha-H Liquid Gold
If I'm having a bad skin day I know I can always rely on this little bottle of magic to sort me out. I've waxed lyrical about this product but nothing makes my skin look quite so amazing. Liquid Gold is a mixture of 5% glycolic acid, licorice extract & silk proteins which have the power to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, hyper-pigmentation, sun damage, acne, scarring and breakouts. Its worked wonders on the bumps under my skin and keeps my blemishes under control. Every time I use it (probably once a week now) I wake up with brighter, tighter, clearer looking skin. This is a chemical exfoliant which may sound scary but using chemicals is far less abrasive than traditional exfoliants, reducing the risk of broken capillaries on your face. If I'd discovered this sooner I probably wouldn't have purchased a Clarisonic.

Redken Real Control Overnight Treat
This thick white cream transforms your hair overnight so you wake up with gorgeous silky ends. It makes your hair feel so soft in the morning and stops it from looking frizzy & damaged. Other overnight hair products can feel too greasy or make a complete mess of your bed sheets. This stuff stays in your hair and just feels nice when you brush it out in the morning. You can even use it as a pre-shampoo treatment by using it at night then washing your hair in the morning.

What are your overnight essentials?

Daily Skincare Routine

Following a bad experience from trying the new YSL foundation I've had a bit of a skincare shakeup to cure my heavily blemished skin. The result is that I'm currently really happy with my skin's texture and appearance. I thought I'd share the products that I've recently been using and loving. For reference my skin type is combination with an oily t-zone & dryer cheeks, prone to blemishes and slightly dehydrated.

Morning
REN Mayblossom T-Zone Control Cleansing Gel, Caudalie Beauty Elixir,
Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum, Alpha-H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50+

In the mornings I try to keep the products down to a minimum. Partly because I don't have much time to get ready and partly because I'm gonna pile a ton of makeup on top of my face anyway. A good cleanser is probably the most important step and at the moment I adore this gel cleanser from REN. Its meant for combination to oily skin types and does a brilliant job of balancing out your skin without stripping it. It helps to unclog my pores and leaves my skin looking clearer and brighter. It foams up just the right amount. I sometimes use this with my Clarisonic but it works just as well without it. I then give my face a generous spritz of Caudalie Beauty Elixir. I'm sure everyone has heard about what a fab skin refresher this is and I love how it works on my skin. I've gone through three big bottles of this now and its something I couldn't live without. A recent addition is the Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching serum. I tried a sample of this in a Glossybox and really liked it. When I went for my facial last month I was told that my skin was a bit dehydrated so I decided to purchase the full size one and its definitely helped to replenish my skin. I finish off with two small pumps of my Alpha-H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50+. Its perfect for my skin type and gives me the high sun protection that my skin so desperately needed.

Makeup Removal
Bioderma Créaline H2O, Boots Botanics Face Soothing Cleansing Balm

What I use to remove my makeup depends on how lazy I'm feeling. If I want something quick and easy then Bioderma is the way to go. A few cotton pads full of this will remove every trace of makeup on my face with ease, even when I've piled on the mascara. Sometimes I feel like my face needs a more thorough clean so I remove a bit of my eye makeup with Bioderma and then I use this Botanics cleansing balm. I really like this balm as massaging this into my face feels wonderful. I use a Liz Earle muslin cloth to remove it from my face and it leaves my skin feeling really smooth and does a fab job of cleaning out my congested areas. Sadly Boots have just relaunched their Botanics range and the ingredient list of this product has now changed. I have no idea if the new cleansing balm is as good as this one but I sure hope so. I fell out of love with Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish as I felt it wasn't really doing anything for my skin anymore. This balm was better, cheaper and made my skin so much nicer. Perhaps because this is more akin to the Eve Lom cleansing balm that Liz Earle tried to emulate long ago.

Night
REN ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser, Caudalie Beauty Elixir, Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré,
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil, Alpha-H Liquid Gold

At night is when your skin your skin repairs itself so this is when its most important to provide it with some TLC. I begin with another REN cleanser in the form of the ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser. This range of REN products is meant for blemish prone skin so it helps to clean out any impurities in your skin, shrink pores and clear up blemishes. Its really creamy and relaxing to massage in. It definitely helps to soften and calm my skin. Its so refreshing to find a skincare range for blemished skin that doesn't strip your skin or leave your face feeling tight. I either remove it using my Clarisonic or a Liz Earle muslin cloth. I then treat my face to some more Caudalie Beauty Elixir. I rotate the next few products throughout the week. Most nights I use some of my Embryolisse moisturiser with a few drops of Advanced Night Repair mixed in. I tend to use the Clarins Lotus Oil once or twice a week to give my skin an extra boost of moisture. This oil is suitable for combination or oily skin so you don't have to worry about this product breaking you out at all. Twice a week I use my holy grail skin product - Alpha-H Liquid Gold. I've raved about this product enough but this is just so good at clearing up any spots you have (including those that lie deep under the skin such as closed comedones), brightening your complexion and reducing scarring.

Theres some other bits and bobs I use once a week such as masks & spot treatments but those will be coming up soon in separate posts. I hope this helps some of you with combination skin as it can be difficult to find the right products for this skintype.

March Favourites

John Frieda Full Repair Heat-Activated Styling Spray
I recently invested in the whole of the new John Frieda Full Repair range as I've read so many good reviews about it. Plus it was 3 for 2 in Boots so it would've been rude not to! I love the deep conditioner as it makes my hair feel amazing but the real star of the show has to be the styling spray. You basically spray this all over your hair after towel drying and after using heat tools on it your hair is left feeling very soft & looking very shiny. It really helps to keep your style in place all day. I blow dry my hair & use my Babyliss Big Hair styler every time I wash my hair so using heat activated products means I can still use these tools without having to worry about excessive heat damage. I highly recommend the whole range.

Good Things Deep Pore Anti Blemish Cleanser
I read about this product on Jennie's blog and I immediately went out and bought it. Its kind of a hybrid cleanser/toner product. This stuff smells absolutely incredible which makes it a real pleasure to apply. I like my toners to have a bit of oomph to them and my Liz Earle one didn't seem to be doing much to my skin anymore other than refreshing it. I really like using this because its pretty much a lazy girl's cleanser. When I can't be bothered with washing my face properly at night I remove the bulk of my makeup using Bioderma then I use this afterwards. You just put some on a cotton pad and wipe it on your face. You can see all the dirt coming off in the cotton pad so its easy to tell when all the makeup has gone. I find this has really helped to clear up my skin and although it might seem a bit harsher than other toners it doesn't dry out my skin at all.

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré
I only got this stuff a week ago but it was love at first application. I felt that my Dermalogica Active Moist wasn't doing as much to my skin anymore as I still had dry patches if I didn't use a primer or serum under my foundation. I've heard a lot about this product and Sam from Pixiwoo always uses it so I figured it must be good. It hydrates my skin beautifully, evening out my dry and oily patches. Its very comforting & soothing on my skin and leaves you with a perfect base for makeup. I got mine from Screenface where it was £20 for 75ml including shipping.

Estée Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher
I've recently become really interested in serums as I felt my skin could do with a bit of a boost. I'm a big fan of Estée Lauder products so I figured I'd give their Idealist serum a go. You apply a couple of pumps of this to your skin before your moisturiser in the morning. This works as a primer for your foundation as well as making your skin feel really nice. It does minimise my pores and helps to get rid of any dry patches because it aims to resurface your face. It has also helped to fade acne scars I have. Its really expensive so I don't know if I would repurchase it but I do really like using it. It has definitely helped my skin out a lot but I think I might just stick to putting some Advanced Night Repair into my moisturiser instead.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
This stuff is simply amazing. I often buy Estée Lauder products so I've always had tons of samples of this floating about the house from those gift with purchase deals. I kinda dismissed this product as I only bothered using it once before and I didn't really notice a difference then. Recently my skin has been a little bit on the dry side so I went through my drawers looking for samples of serums to mix into my moisturiser at night. I used this every night for about a week and it made my skin feel really soft & look even toned. It has also helped to get rid of any spots I had as well as stopping the appearance of new ones. I think this serum is mainly meant for anti-aging properties so thats an added bonus, hopefully I won't get any wrinkles if I keep using it! I've since gone through two of the little samples bottles and I purchased a 30ml bottle from BuyaPowa. I heard that theres a small amount of this stuff mixed into the new Estée Lauder Invisible Fluid foundation (which I am also loving) so if you use that you can keep on reaping the benefits throughout the day. Either that or mix a couple of drops in with your moisturiser before you apply any foundation. This stuff is definitely worth its price tag and I don't think I could go without it now. I'd recommend getting this over Idealist but they do work brilliantly together if you're wanting a different serum for day and night.

Revlon Lip Butters
I've gone a bit mad with the current 3 for 2 offer in Boots. The hype won me over and I finally managed to grab some of the Revlon Lip Butters. I have never bought any makeup from Revlon before, their products just never appealed to me. But these are something else! They're more like a moisturising lipstick than a lip balm. They all have excellent colour payoff and give my lips a lovely sheen. They wear really nicely & fade evenly leaving a subtle stain on my lips. I picked up Strawberry Shortcake, Peach Parfait & Sweet Tart. None of the other colours really appealed to me so I can't imagine myself buying any more of these but I really love the colours I got. I've not worn anything else on my lips since I got these and for someone with a rather extensive lipstick collection thats quite an achievement.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows
Another extremely hyped product. These cream eyeshadows are great worn on their own or as an eyeshadow base. They don't crease on my eyelids at all and last until I take my makeup off at night. I picked up the colours Eternal Gold, On And On Bronze & Permanent Taupe. My fave is definitely the bronze one, it looks so lovely on its own. I would definitely get some more of these. I really want the white or silver to use as an inner corner highlight but all the point of sale stands I've seen only have four slots which have these three colours and then either the grey, blue or purple. Hopefully they'll release the rest of the colours soon.

Twinings Green Tea*
In my kitchen I have a whole cupboard filled with loads of different varieties of tea. Most people seem to think I'm a bit odd for preferring herbal teas over a regular cuppa. I think its mainly down to the health benefits they provide plus they taste great and only contain like 1 calorie. I remember chugging down raspberry tea to help bring on labour when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy and I always have copious amounts of echinacea tea whenever I'm poorly. My all time favourite herbal tea is Twinings Pure Peppermint. Its just so refreshing and it really helps to calm my stomach. I've had at least one cup of it every day for the past five years.

I was recently contacted by Twinings to see if I'd be interested in trying out some of their new green tea range. I'm already a big fan of green tea, I love the taste and its no secret that it can help to boost your metabolism. Its also full of natural antioxidants. I'd only ever had plain green tea so I was really interested to try some of the new flavours. My local Sainsbury's only had a few of the new range but I decided to try the Pomegranate Green Tea & Jasmine Green Tea. Both have a definite green tea taste but are very different. The pomegranate smells divine and tastes slightly fruity whereas the jasmine is a lot more delicate and floral. I think I prefer the jasmine one because it tastes exactly like the wonderful jasmine tea you get in Chinese restaurants. I'd love to try some of the other flavours. The mango & lychee and pineapple & grapefruit green teas sound especially nice.

If you want to try some Twinings tea for free then you can get two free samples by 'liking' the Twinings Facebook page. I'd suggest picking the Pure Peppermint & Pure Camomile, they are definitely my teas of choice.

Estee Lauder Elizabeth Hurley Pink Ribbon Collection

In 1993 the late Evelyn Lauder, Senior Corporate Vice President of Estee Lauder, founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, co-creating the now famous pink ribbon symbol. Estee Lauder have been champions of breast cancer awareness for 19 years and in that time have donated more than $8.5 million to the cause. These days many companies sell pink coloured products in support of breast cancer awareness but it was Evelyn Lauder who came up with the idea of creating a special range of pink cosmetics.

A couple of months ago my mum went to Selfridges in London as Liz Hurley, one of the Estee Lauder ambassadors, was there signing any purchases made from their Pink Ribbon collection. I don't know why she particularly wanted to meet Liz Hurley but hey, my mums a bit weird haha. Luckily for me this meant that I was gifted with this cute little makeup bag containing a beautiful pink lipstick and a bejewelled breast cancer ribbon pin (the blue crystal represents male breast cancer). 20% of the proceeds from the Pink Ribbon collection goes towards the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I think that this is such an important cause that we should all support because the chances are that all of us will know someone who is affected by this disease at some point in our lives.

The Pure Colour Crystal Lipstick in Lavish Pink from Liz's set is a really wonderful colour. Its unlike pretty much every other pink lipstick I've tried. The colour is incredibly vibrant yet at the same time its toned down enough to be a great every day lipstick. Its not too cool & its not too warm. Theres a slight shimmer to it which I think most of the Crystal lipsticks have but its not too frosty. The formula is really moisturising yet lasts for about 4 hours on me. I adore the packaging of the lipstick, I think its right up there with the gorgeous YSL Rouge Volupte & Tom Ford ones. The scent is very different to that familiar vanilla smell of MAC lipsticks, its a lot fruiter (apparently its supposed to be fig scented) which might not be to everyones taste. I think it works really well with my skintone and I was so happy when my mum surprised me with this. Estee Lauder also have many permanent Pure Colour Crystal shades, I've got my eyes on Crystal Baby. The Pink Ribbon sets are a wonderful idea that give you a beautiful product as well as the satisfaction that you've helped to support such an important cause. Sadly I think all the sets have sold out now but keep an eye out for this year's collection.

Christmas Presents

Kindle & Hairbows
Every year when I go shopping for everyone else's presents I can't resist buying myself a few items as well. This year I bought myself a Kindle & a couple of hairbows from Georgie's shop Beauxoxo. I love how small the kindle is and I can't wait to start filling it up with books. So far I've only downloaded the A Song Of Ice & Fire series, really enjoying those so far. I used to ruin all my books by dog-earing the corners to save my place so I love that it remembers exactly where you were in the story for you. Brilliant invention. The hairbows are so gorgeous & sparkly, I'm really tempted to buy some of the other colours too.


Thorntons Chocolate Hamper
My mum likes to fatten me up so she got me this HUGE hamper of chocolate from Thorntons. Shamefully I've already managed to polish off a few of the packs in here. Can't resist anything with a caramel centre, nom.




Estée Lauder Makeup Artist Professional Colour Collection
She also got me this beautiful makeup kit from Estee Lauder. It's worth over £300 but you can buy it for £50 when you buy one of their perfumes. My sister wanted the perfume so win win. The bag is really gorgeous, it comes with two smaller bags containing a mirror and some brushes. The palettes have some decent colours in so I should get a lot of use out of this kit. The lippies are especially lovely.


Space.NK Goodies
My sister bought me some things from Space.NK. She got me the By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer (which is basically Touche Eclat x 1000), the By Terry Blush Terrybly in Rose which is a super pretty pale pink colour, the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder & a little Ren body set.


Candles
These were all gifts from various inlaws. One of them asked me what I wanted so I chose a Cherry Yankee Candle. I've been burning it every day and theres hardly a dent in it. As with most Yankee Candles, it smells divine. The other day his partner decided to dump loads of recycled gifts on me in the form of a mug, a diary, a body scrub & a calendar of hunks which my boyfriend promptly chucked in the bin. The scrub looks okay I guess lol. My mother in law got me a little mirror with my name on it & this lily & magnolia candle set.



Lingerie
I asked Andy to get me some lingerie because hes always moaning about my M&S underwear. He got me these from La Senza. He paid like £60 for these sets and now they're down to a tenner in the sale, fail :( They are lovely though so he did well this year.


Angry Bird!
He also got me an Angry Bird! He knows I love Angry Birds and he probably thinks I am a bit of one so its a very appropriate gift haha.

I love seeing what other people got for Christmas so feel free to link me to your post :)