Face Facts: Easy, Everyday Spring Look

I've decided I'm definitely going to need to get a proper camera/tripod system going on.  It is so hard to not go bog eyed when I'm taking photographs of myself this close, haha.  Anyway...you know me...in the morning, I like to have maximum sleep time which ultimately means getting ready in the morning is quite a rush.  I've been aiming to get my make up Spring ready and this is what I've been opting for the past few weeks.

FACE FACTS

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Ivory

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Concealer in Light

Bourjois Java Rice Powder

Bourjois Cream Blush in Pink Sunwear

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette Left Eyelid and Definer Shades

Rimmel Extra 3D Lash Mascara in Black

Benefit Gimme Brow in Medium/Deep

MAC Lipstick in See Sheer

Real Techniques Buffing Brush

Real Techniques Setting Brush

Real Techniques Contour Brush

The Body Shop Eyeshadow Brush

For my base, I kept it light and hoped for some radiance from the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation, and used the Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer to brighten under my eyes and lightly conceal any redness.  I really have been quite liking this concealer, but do think I need something with a bit more coverage for concealing blemishes.  I also have found that it needs to be set, and for that I have rediscovered my Bourjois Java Rice Powder.  I used this under my eyes, and also across the tops of my cheek bones, a little down my nose and a touch across my forehead.  It's got a touch of shimmer to it, but it's not at all glittery; it just gives a light and lift to the skin.  I also think that the loose powder helps to blur my skin.  But, looking back, I might not go for the forehead next time seeing as I have oily skin and micro shimmer to there won't be doing me any favours up there.

On my cheeks, I used the Bourjois Cream Blush in Pink Sunwear - another rediscovery from my collection!  It's a lovely bronze shade, which isn't metallic or shimmery, but it's not matte either.  I think it's a great way of adding some colour to the skin and definition to the cheeks without having to use a bronzing powder.  I quickly combed through my sparse brows with Benefit's Gimme Brow Gel.

Another collection rediscovery was the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette.  I absolutely love the left hand side, and used the eyelid shade and the definer shade for this look.  The eyelid shade is a gorgeous rosy/copper shade with shimmer that looks amazing when it reflects the light.  I think it really helps to open and further brighten my eyes.  I just applied this with my finger and blended it out with a clean finger.  I then lined my eyes with the definer shade using The Body Shop's Eyeshadow Brush.  For my mascara, I used the Rimmel Extra 3D Lash Mascara to give some length and lift to my lashes.  Finally, I used MAC's See Sheer lipstick to add some subtle colour to my lips.

Have you tried any of these products?  What are your Spring make up picks?

Favourites: March 2015

My favourites this month were an absolute breeze to choose.  I've been using these products near enough daily for the entire month, and haven't really been using anything else.  The days have been getting warmer, lighter for longer and today marks the official start of British Summer Time.  I've been whipping out my best bits for creating my own Spring ready look.

The only skincare item that has made it into my favourites this month is The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum in Oil.  I mentioned this briefly during my Body Shop Haul back in January and never really knew what to expect from it, but I have been reaching for this almost every night instead of, or as well as a moisturiser if I feel like my skin needs some extra moisture.  It's not greasy, not overpowering in scent and just leaves my skin plumped and hydrated.  Definitely one to try if you haven't already.

I have two cheek products for this month.  At the beginning of the month, I was constantly using the Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop.  I absolutely love it, and I'm convinced I'll be hitting pan soon...the embossed flower is getting very flat now, just look at it in comparison to when I first reviewed it here!  It might even be my most worn blush in my collection?  It's been perfect for adding a bronzey, peach flush to my cheeks.  For the last couple of weeks of March, I've been using the Bourjois Cream Blush in Pink Sunwear.  I've got a post coming on Wednesday with me using this, and it's just another perfect colour for Spring.  I love that it's a cream too, because it just looks that little bit more glowy than the Clinique blush.

For my brows this month, I've just combed them through with the Benefit Gimme Brow.  Since I ran out of my clear Collection mascara, I've been using this a lot more.  It's great for adding colour and making my brows look a bit fuller, and I also love it when I'm rushing in the morning because I feel like there's enough definition that I can get away with not filling them in.

My lipstick of choice this month has been MAC's See Sheer.  It's such a beautiful shade, and I honestly don't know why I haven't used more of this.  It's a coral shade that has some slight brown undertones in it.  I've seen See Sheer on so many different reviews and it's one of those shades that just looks different on everybody!  I like to apply this to the centre of my lips and pat it in a little bit for a more subtle colour.

On my eyes I've been using the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette, specifically the left hand eyelid shade that I've actually hit pan on now, and the left hand definer shade.  The eyelid shade really helps to brighten and awaken my eyes, looks great for Spring and Summer and lasts all day.  I also love the defining shade too; previously I had been using a brown kohl liner, but it was just too harsh.  I love the soft definition this shade gives!

What are your favourites this month?  Leave me a link in the comments!

Fit Friday: Goal Update and Current Workouts

I've been a little absent on the whole gym/fitness front lately.  To be honest, I've just not got my rhythm going and unfortunately I've just taken any excuse lately to not go to the gym.  The early, dark nights made me want to just go home and be warm instead of sweating it out in the gym.  But it's getting lighter in the evenings now, and the clocks go forward on Saturday (handy reminder there!) meaning it'll be lighter for even longer, so I'm feeling much more energised after finishing work recently.  It's so nice being able to drive home without needing my lights on!

I spoke of my new goals for 2015 back in December, and I'm so pleased that this week I managed my first ever unassisted pull up!   I've been trying to do that for so long, and I was so proud of myself when I managed it on my own.  I can't do any more than the one without putting my feet down between pull ups, but hey...one step at a time.  Maybe next month I'll be able to do five in a row?

Talking of my 2015 goals, running has not got well for me at all.  I've been once this entire year and that was also my first ever outdoor run that I did off my own back.  My route takes me down the lane, along the riverbank and over farmers fields along public walkways.  I ran using the Nike Running app, and ran for sixteen minutes and forty seconds for supposedly 1.43 miles.  I'm pretty sure that's a terrible time for such a short distance, but I say supposedly because my route that it mapped out seemed to cut out a chunk?  I ran down a straight between the two red sections on the map, so I don't know if it ran out of signal at that point and stopped recording or what?  If anyone uses it then please do let me know if I did in fact run further...please say I ran all of a smidge further!  

I'm very lucky with the area that I live in that I have such a pretty route to run, so I can't excuse why I've only been once.   Needless to say, it was tiring, but I'm pleased I went - even if it did feel as though my ankles were bending the wrong way for a few days afterwards.  I feel like I need a running buddy to spur me on to turn this into a routine, and so far I've only had Liam volunteer to bike alongside me, which is nice but I'd feel like I was in a scene of Run Fatboy, Run.

Image Here

For my workouts, I've still been mainly doing weights over cardio and I'm really enjoying seeing my strength building and my body changing.  I've actually maintained my weight, but have managed to lose a few inches on most of my body!  The jeans I got for Christmas are even starting to feel loose around my waist, so I'm definitely pleased.  I won't lie that I'm disappointed I'm maintaining my weight, but my diet hasn't been great recently.  I'm finally out of Christmas chocolate now though so hopefully things will improve a little.  I really need to start trying to ignore what I weigh and go on how my body feels.

This week I've been picking out a couple of workouts to do that I've found on Pinterest and I've really enjoyed them.  I find that I work best when I have a plan of what I need to do, otherwise I end up floating around not really knowing what to do next.  I'll continue with these workouts a little longer and then come and report back on them, but in the meantime here is my Fit Board if you wanted to check that out!  I also cracked on with Carly Rowena's Leg and Butt Routine...my legs were like jelly afterwards, and going downstairs as I was leaving the gym proved pretty difficult!  It's definitely one to give a go, and a workout I'll be slipping in every week!

What does your work out routine look like?  How are your goals coming along?

The NARS Yu Dupe

It's not often that I come across dupes in my stash.  I'm usually quite good when buying make up and stick to buying things that are different to what I have already.  But whilst browsing my collection of pinks, I happened to stumble across a very good dupe for the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Yu - and you will be pleased to know that it costs just £7.99.

I actually said in my post on the Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret that I didn't own anything similar to Yu.  Turns out that was a big fat (unintentional, might I add) lie as my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in the shade Lovesick is pretty identical in colour.  The Revlon Balm Stains are one of my favourite lip crayons, and I have pretty much the entire original release.  They're comfortable to wear on the lips, are moisturising, not sticky, buildable in colour and when the balm feeling fades, you are left with a great stain.  I remember being quite shocked at how good the pigmentation was in a balm stain, and Lovesick is no exception.

On the left is Lovesick; the Revlon offering is a bright fuschia pink which, because it applies like a balm, is slightly glossy with a slight sheerness to it.  It's still packing some pigment, but isn't quite as opaque in one swipe as Yu.  That said, I think you can layer up to get a decent colour intensity.  To the right, we have Yu.  Yu is opaque in one swipe, and is also a very bright fuschia pink.  Yu isn't as glossy as Lovesick as it has a satin finish, but I don't find it to be as comfortable to wear as the Revlon alternative.

In the photo above, Lovesick is on the left again and Yu is on the right.  As you can see, they are very similar in colour - Yu just has a touch more opacity which makes for a slightly bolder lip.  But, the photograph below, I'm wearing Lovesick on my top lip and Yu on my bottom - I honestly don't think I can tell the difference wearing it together!

I'm quite into getting my moneys worth, so I think if I ever lost both of these, I'd be buying Lovesick in a heartbeat.  Whilst I love my NARS lip pencil, spending £19.00 on something I could get which is nearly identical for just £7.99 just seems silly.  Especially with how much I love the Revlon Balm Stains!

Have you found any dupes in your stash?

Rimmel Extra 3D Lash Mascara

I don't know if it's because it's Spring, or my lack of time in the morning because I favour sleeping over getting ready time, but I've been opting for a fresh faced simple make up look recently.  Simple and natural has been my morning mantra, and to help me achieve it, I've been using the Rimmel Extra 3D Lash Mascara a lot lately!

You'll have to excuse the complete state of this tube of mascara.  I won a goodie bag of Rimmel bits on Twitter, and a nail polish smashed in the bag it got sent in and completely covered everything!  I tried to take it off, but it's a fine glitter nail polish and it's just not having any of it - drives me insane to look at it so messy!  That aside...I've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this mascara, but all in all it's definitely a product worth checking out if you want natural looking lashes with plenty of length.

The wand has plastic bristles which is perfect as I've always favoured this over a fibre wand - I just think that the plastic bristles really work to comb through and separate your lashes.  The only downside to this wand, which is where the hate side of the relationship comes in, is that the bristles are so damn sharp.  It took me a while to get used to using this mascara, because you really can't get to the root of your lashes because it's actually painful - you can see in the photos that the bristles are like spikes.  So...a  bit of practice is required to get to grips with not scratching your waterline.

As you can see in the photographs above, my eyelashes are near enough invisible without mascara.  They're quite long, but the colour is just so light, especially on the tips, they just look like they aren't there at all.  The photograph below shows my lashes with one carefully applied coat of the Extra 3D Lash Mascara.  As you can see, my lashes are lengthened and lifted.  I don't use an eyelash curler, in fact don't even own one, but I think I might have to look into getting one as this kind of lift just doesn't last all day unfortunately.  

At £4.99, this mascara is definitely reasonably priced and I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again when mine runs out.  It's the perfect addition to any Spring make up routine and is ideal for creating defined, long, natural looking lashes.  I'm really impressed!

Have you tried this mascara?  What's your favourite?

Spoil Yourself Sunday

Sunday.  The only day of the week that I have completely to myself; no work commitments, no nothing if I wanted to.  Today has been a bit of a busy one for me actually.  I got up earlier than normal, had my breakfast before going out to clean both mine and Liam's car, stocked up on logs for our log burner and stacked them in our shed, washed and dried three loads of washing and even did a bit of tidying up.  So as I sit here leisurely tapping away whilst Liam plays on his Xbox guilt free, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my 'me time.'  I've been making time for this for quite a few Sunday's now, and at the moment it features these...

It's not often that I have the time during the week to sit and relax in the bath, so come Sunday I am all about bath time.  After cleansing my face and taking any make up off if I've even been bothered to put it on, I like to sit in the bath with my hair piled on top of my head with a face mask on.  The face mask I've been using recently is the Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask from The Body Shop, but in all honesty I'm not entirely sure if I love it - it can sometimes be quite uncomfortable on the skin, dries it out lots so I can't leave it on too long and  I always have to follow with a hydrating toner and an oil afterwards.  I definitely think there is a face mask out there which will be perfect for my Sunday routine...let me know in the comments what your favourite is!

I love to use my absolute favourite LUSH product which is The Comforter Bubble Bar.  I get lots of bubbles from just crumbling a quarter of the bar under the hot tap, and it turns my bath water purpley pink!  It also smells like Vimto; very berry scented and I just find the scent really relaxing!

After having my bath and going through my skincare routine, I like to sit downstairs in my comfortable pyjamas and paint my nails.  I have been using the OPI Nail Envy for Sensitive and Peeling Nails as my base coat recently, which I much prefer to the Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Base Coat.  I've been neglecting my nails for a few months now, and they need to get some strength and length back in them so Nail Envy has been ideal.  When this runs out though, I think I'll be opting for the Original version.

For colour, what better way to spoil myself  than cracking out my Christian Louboutin Rouge Nail Lacquer.  Liam surprised me with this for Christmas, and I absolutely love it.  The colour is just the perfect red, and it's so glossy!  Plus the packaging is just beautiful...  It's definitely the most luxury beauty product I own, so fits perfectly into my 'Spoil Yourself Sunday' routine!

What's do you do on a Sunday to spoil yourself?

Two From Yes To

There are a couple of things that have been featuring rather heavily in my daily routines lately that I have been absolutely loving.  One I have mentioned previously in my Sick Day Skin Care Routine, and the other is one I've been enjoying using over the past few weeks.  Yes To is a brand I've heard of, but it's not one that I regularly see raved about.  I've seen their facial wipes being spoken highly of quite a few times, and whilst I wasn't really a fan of the Cucumber Facial Wipes that I tried, I don't understand why nobody has branched out to try much else.  There are five different ranges to choose from, each aimed at a certain type of skin and here today I have the Yes To Blueberries Firming Eye Treatment and the Yes To Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub to talk about. 

Yes To Blueberries has a "clinically proven formula to treat fine lines and nourish age damaged skin," which whilst it may not be strictly for my age group, I've been really enjoying using the Yes To Blueberries Eye Firming Treatment in my daily routine.  I have been using it daily during my evening routine for the past few months now, and I don't think I've got a bad thing to say about it.  It's thicker than any other eye cream that I have, which is why I choose to use it in the evenings, but it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or feel heavy on the skin.  It absorbs really quickly and leaves the area feeling really soft.  At first, I didn't think that I was too bad for fine lines, but I think that using this combined with the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream in the morning has made a noticeable difference - maybe not noticeable to anyone else, but I feel like I can tell that something good has gone on.  Because I use two eye creams, I don't think I could pin point if it was one or the other in all honesty.

Next, the newer Yes To addition to my collection, the Yes To Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub which I think smells just like sour gummy worms or something.  It's sweet, but sour and just smells pretty amazing.  I have often tried daily face scrubs before and some of them are just so harsh and scratchy that using them can become quite sore and leave my skin feeling irritated.  This one however has just been a complete pleasure to use; the exfoliating grains gently buff the skin, leaving my skin feeling soft without being at all abrasive.  Acne and big cystic spots haven't been an issue on my face recently (I almost don't dare type that in case it's one giant jynx...) and I'm feeling confident that introducing an exfoliator more regularly to my routine might have played it's part in keeping my skin look fresh and clear.  A random positive is that it also sits happily in my shower and doesn't collect water in the cap - don't you just hate when that happens!

Have you tried anything from Yes To yet?