Summer Lip Edit

The sun is shining more often here in the UK and the summer clothes are coming out as well so I thought it was time to bring out my summer lipsticks as well. Today I'm going to run you through my top 5 summer lipsticks.

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Sweet Pea
My first go to summer lipstick is a slightly brighter version of one that featured in my Spring Lip Edit. What I consider to be a bubblegum blue toned pink this lipstick can be worn by pretty much everyone. And it can be worn either sheer and light or opaque and bright. I personally prefer to wear this patted gently onto the lips. It's not because I don't like the colour when opaque but I find it lasts longer patted onto my lips. It's creamy, hydrating and gives a beautiful pop of colour to any look.

Bourjois Rogue Edition Velvet in Pink Pong 
This is a favourite from last summer and I've been counting down the days until it was acceptable to break it out again. It's another blue toned pink that suits even the fairest of skintones and makes teeth look that little bit whiter. It comes in a liquid form that dries down to what could be considered a powder finish. It can be a bit drying for a matte finish but does last practically the whole day and can be quite hard to remove at the end of the day.

MAC Retro Matte In Ruby Woo
When I was looking through my collection for this post I almost overlooked this lipstick. I always just reach for a bright pink during the summer but when I swatched this I realised that this was my perfect summertime red. With my skintone this looks a lot more like a orangey/tomato red where as Russian Red looks like a classic red on me. I've found myself reaching for this more over the last few weeks when I've wanted a red lip instead of the darker more wintery reds I own. With what I consider an extra matte finish Ruby Woo is the perfect lipstick to last all day but can be very drying on the lips, especially if reapplying is necessary. As much as I love this I highly recommend you keep a lip balm at hand when you take it off.

 Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries In The Snow 
While this may look red in the bullet it actually goes onto lips as a beautiful raspberry shade that while still bright isn't as noticable as the Bourjois Pink. This lipstick is the one sheen finish lipstick that I willing wear for my slightly longer days at work. When applied it leaves a nice sheen to the lips but unlike others it doesn't wear away as quickly. It can be a few good hours before I have to reapply and even then there is still a decent amount of colour left on my lips. It doesn't dry lips out, doesn't wear away unevenly and can even be worn over the top of lip balm without going streaky.

Smashbox Be Legendary Matte Lipstick in Punch Drunk 
This is actually my latest edition to my summer lip collection. It's perfect for people looking for a pink lip but don't want a barbie pink or a neon pink. It has a purple tone when in the bullet but when on the lips it has a slightly dulled down raspberry colour to it. There more of what I call a satin finish than a matte. It does transfer and require reapplication after a few hours. I'd like to say that this doesn't dry lips out because it's not what I call a true matte finish it does dry lips out and some product can ball up on dry patches. However if you're lips are scrubbed and moisturised then you won't have problems with it and it makes the perfect alternative to a brighter summer pink or even a red.

Have you tried any of these? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Boots Extracts Brazil Nut Body Scrub

I've been a big fan of body scrubs for a while and for the longest while my favourite was the Sanctuary Salt Scrub but a few weeks back I found a new favourite. The Boots Extracts Brazil Nut Body Scrub smells like heaven, in fact the whole range smells like heaven. I was also highly impressed by the size of the tub to the price I paid.

It's not the most scrubby of scrubs but it does leave skin feeling ultra soft and cleansed after each use. It feels like more of a mosituriser on the skin and doesn't leave a residue when washed off. I use this mainly on my legs as they don't need much of an exfoliate as my upper body does and it leaves them feeling soft and supple.

Unlike most scrubs this was is very gentle on the skin and more of a watery consistency than other scrubs I've tried. It's not exactly what I would call a bad thing but I am more of a fan of the harsher slightly more gritty scrubs on the market. If you have skin that is too sensitive for those scrubs but want to feel like your exfoliating you skin then this is the scrub for you. It can leave your bath in a bit of a mess when you use it and I put that down to the consistency of the product itself.

I'm not usually a fan of sweet smelling products but this scrub and the Almond Scrub make me swoon everytime I smell them. There are more scents in the range if you're not a fan of these particular ones and there is also other products in the range. Great value for money and not one of the worst scrubs I've tried I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't like the harsher scrubs on the market.

Product Empties #2

I've only recently done a product empties post but lately everything has run out at once. So I thought I'd let you in on what I've finished and what I thought of them.

Clearly Youthful Resurfacing Night Serum 
This is something I haven't completely finished but the design of the packaging makes it practically impossible to finish it. This is my daily night serum and I've lost count of what bottle this is. A thick consistency this contains both AHA and BHA acids which are brilliant for retexturising the skin and removing any blemishes or redness. I like the pipette applicator as it helps give an even amount of product with each use but I dislike the fact that once you get to a certain point you can't get the rest of the product out. I already have about 2 more of these backed up in my drawers.

 Clearly Youthful Hydrating Day Serum
I've actually gone through two of these since my last empties post. Not only because I love it but because I've added this to my evening routine as well as my morning routine. It contains all the same ingredients as the retexturising night serum but contains more hyaluronic acid. This gives a brilliant boost of hydration to skin no matter what time of the day. I love popping this onto my face after a cleanse and face mask as I can really feel my skin drinking it up. The only off putting thing about this product is the smell but once you get past that it's brilliant product that I have back ups waiting to use.

Superdrug Cotton Pads and Boots Cotton Pads
I go through a lot of cotton pads. And I use a variety of them. The Boots Cotton Pads I used on my face for my morning cleanse and my second cleanse at night. They're lot a softer on my skin than the Superdrug ones and don't fall apart as I'm using them. The My Little Star Cotton Pads are ultra soft and perfect for removing my make up at night. They can hold a lot of product and cover my face in a shorter period of time. They don't irritate my skin and don't malt as I use them either. However the adult Superdrug Cotton Pads are really rough and irritate my skin if I use them to cleanse my face. Yet they make brilliant pads for removing my nail polish and I go through a good two to three packs of them a month.

Vitamin E Refreshing Toning Mist
This a product that I've mentioned in a few of my recent posts as it's become a summer essential for me. This is what some people would dub fancy water but is really a mist that both moisturises and refreshes the face. It smells divine and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and refreshed after a few spritz. When the UK had their mini heatwave a couple of weeks back it was a saviour to me. I found myself spraying this all over my face two to three times a day as well as during my daily skincare routines. It sounds silly but my skin feels softer after every use and my serums and moisturiser sink quicker into the skin than they did before.

 Primark PS Love Powder Brush
RIP my Primark Powder Brush. I'd love to give you an epic tale of how it broke but in reality it just snapped on half one day when I was tapping off any excess powder. I was quite sad when this broke as I really liked this brush. It was soft, didn't malt and didn't put too much product on the skin and only cost a quid. I repurchased another one immediately because no other brush in my collection put my powder on like this did.

Superdrug Deep Action Pore Cleansing Nose Strips
I have something to admit. I'm one of those people that find these tiny nose strips fascinating beyond belief. These are just like any other out on the market. Stick them to your nose, wait five to ten minutes and then peel it gently off to see what nasties you've pulled out of your skin. I find myself using two of these a week as I have quite prominent blackheads on my nose but it does mean I go through these quicker than I should. And that's the only downside to this product, you only get 4 or 5 in a pack and at the rate I use them they only last a couple weeks.

Imperial Leather Paradise Island Bath Cream
This is my favourite bubble bath ever and I've lost count of how many bottles me and my mum have gone through. It smells like peach and vanilla and while I'm not a big fan of vanilla scents usually this really gets me because you can't even tell there's vanilla in there, the peach is so overpowering. It doesn't fill your bath with tons of bubbles but there is an adequate amount. Yet it really is just the scent that gets me with this product, it lingers in the bathroom long after you've pulled the plug. I find myself using twice as much as I need as I just can't get enough of the scent.

B Energised Eye Cream
This is my go to eye cream because it's the only one I've actually seen results from. It's that good I've actually got my mum and best friend hooked on it as well. More a gel like formula than a cream this is ultra awakening and refreshing on the under eye area. If you're looking for a more indepth review, I posted one a little while ago here. My only problem with this product is that towards the end it can go kind of watery and spits out onto your finger when applying it however a few shakes before use and it's as good as new.

 Rosie Huntington-Whiteley- Rosie For Autograph Eau De Parfum 
This is the one product I hung onto for as long as possible because I just didn't want to finish it. That and I didn't have a back up of it. Now though I do have a back up and I've finally finished my first bottle of Rosie's debut perfume for Marks And Spencer's. A strong floral scent I didn't think I was going to like it as much as I do. In fact this is the fastest I've ever gone through a bottle of perfume. It has a brilliant staying power and makes me feel more classy and elegant everytime I wear it.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? Did you finish them? Let me know in the comments.

Everyday Evening Skincare Routine

A few weeks back I showed you my morning skincare routine and thought it time to show you my evening skincare routine. There are more products in the evening as I'm always removing some sort of make up.

For the first step of my evening skincare routine I use either of these products depending on how much make up I'm wearing. For the last few months my favourite make up remover has been the Vitamin E Cleasning Oil, a brilliant dual phase oil that removes all traces of make up including mascara but without leaving skin feeling greasy. Also in the last couple of weeks I've been using The Body Shop's Camomile Cleansing Butter and really loving the results. I love the consistency of this on my skin and how it breaks my make up down. It isn't harsh on my skin and leaves it feeling soft after every use.

After I do my intial cleanse with either my balm or oil I always go in again with this Simple Micellar Water. This is the only micellar water on the market at the moment that agrees with my skin. It doesn't do anything fancier than clean my skin and remove any make up I've missed and that's exactly what I want from product like this. Fragrance free and gentle on the eyes this is brilliant to use both in the morning and evening when I feel like my skin needs a refresh.

Once all my base make up is gone I use some of the Loreal Eye And Lip Make Up Remover to remove any leftover mascara. This is a brilliant duo phase product that removes all traces of mascara and even stubborn lipsticks. It does have a slight oily feeling to it when used but it doesn't leave a nasty residue on the skin.

After all my make up is gone and my face is screaming out for moisture I start the second phase of my evening routine with my Vitamin E Refreshing Toning Mist. This is my skin saviour after a long day at work. A few spritz go a long way and leave my skin feeling refreshed and ready for any moisturiser I'm putting on.

Now my skin is cleaned and refreshed I go in with my Clearly Youthful Hydrating Day Serum. I know it's a day serum but on the back it says it can be used in the evening as well. It's only recently I've added this to my evening routine but my skin is already thanking me. It gives my skin that moisture boost that it so desperately needs by now. Two pumps does my entire face and I can feel my skin drinking this in as soon as I've put it on.

Now this step is one I find myself forgetting sometimes. This was actually recommended to me by my mum and I'm so glad I listened to her. The Olay Firm and Lift Eye Gel is a clear gel that is soothing on the eyes as well as hydrating. I usually have really bad dark circles but since I've been using this and another product I've found that they have gone down a lot. A little goes a long way and makes my tired eyes feel refreshed.

Next up is my Clearly Youthful Resurfacing Night Serum. I literally adore the Clearly Youthful range, both their day and night serums are hydrating and refreshing on the skin. I like the night one especially for when I have a few blemishes on my skin as it contains salicylic acid which helps take down any redness my blemishes have. A lot of you may wonder why I use two serums when my day serum gives me the hydration I need but the Resurfacing Night Serum does exactly what it says on the packet. Any texture on my skin at night time is gone by the morning and any redness I have is diminished.

And now for my final step. After what may seem like forever but is actually about twenty minutes I go in with my favourite skin product ever. The Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream has not only changed how I look at my skincare routine but also how I look at my skin. Any issues that I have with my skin such as dark circles, redness or any sallowness is practically gone by the morning and it's all to do with this cream. It's a thick texture which I advise really rubbing into the skin so you don't stick to your pillowcases but the results are beyond amazing. I wrote a full length review on it here.

And that's it for my evening skincare routine. Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream

When I first saw this cream advertised I scoffed. A cream couldn't change your skin after overnight from the first use. Oh how very wrong was I. After one use this product was deemed one of my hero products and I haven't gone a night without using it. The results are that mind blowing that I actually feel confident going to work without make up on.

In the pot it looks like any other cream on the market but this one has a very different texture to those found in your local Superdrug or Boots. The texture of this is almost velvety both in the pot and on the skin. It also bounces back after every use so that there aren't fingerprints all over the jar very much like The Body Shops Drops Of Youth Sleeping Cream. A little does go a long way and does leave a slight tackiness to the skin after intial application but soon sinks in to leave skin velvety smooth.

Before I started using this I hated how my face looked without make up. I had a lot of redness, my dark circles were very prominent and there was a certain sallowness to my face. I will admit that the first night I applied this I wasn't very optimistic about the results as I just couldn't work out how it would change my skin overnight. However I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up the next day. My dark circles were still there but were significantly less noticable and my redness was nearly non existent. The sallowness I found my skin to have when I didn't wear make up was gone and hasn't returned since I've been using this. I will say that this is a product you have to use everyday not because you'd lose the results you've already seen but because the results you do see will just get better with every use. With the mini heatwave we had in the UK last week I found this was my hero, practically removing my imperfections so that I was able to go without make up and not worry about my skin.

If you've seen this advertised and scoffed I highly recommend you either try a tester in a shop or buy it and see the results for youself. It's one of the slightly more pricey skincare items on the marker especially for Garnier but I really think that it's worth the money. Have any of you tried this and not liked it? Or did you have the same results as me? Let me know in the comments

Make Up Haul 2

I've been really restrained about buying make up lately. However today I went a little bit made in Boots, Superdrug and Primark so I thought I'd haul it all on here for you.

 Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask
I brought two of these travel sachets because my full size tube is running out and none of my local Boots have any in stock. This is my favourite face mask of all time as it really does what it says it does. I use it when I really wanna draw all the crap out of my skin and love the way it leaves my skin feeling super soft.

Rimmel Radiance BB Cream in Light
I had a sample of this in my sample box and thought I'd give it a go now the weather's gotten hotter. I really like the results so I went out and purchased a full size tube. For a BB Cream it gives a nice coverage and really does leave skin feeling radiant. It blends seamlessly on the skin and comes with an SPF of 20.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer 
This is another purchase made after trying a sample first. With the hot weather we've had lately I found a need for a primer when I've worn make up. I really liked this when I tried it, it made my make last all day long and didn't create any weird balls or texture on my skin. I think it's because it's a cream primer instead of a silicone primer. Another good cream primer to try is the Maxfactor Facefinity All Day Primer.

Barry  Flawless Light Reflecting Concealer
I've had my eye on this for a few weeks and kept forgetting to pick up when I was near a Barry M stand. Yet today I remembered to pick it up and after spending about ten minutes deciding on the shade I went for 2 Nude. I popped some under my eyes when I got home and found it to be very lightweight on the skin and easy to blend. It reminds me a lot of the new Urban Decay Naked Concealer but I can't say for sure as I haven't tried it.

Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Paint in Make Me Teal
This is a colour I've had my eye on for a while after my mum got a manicure done with it. I finally picked it up to add to my never ending Barry M collection. This beautiful teal shade looks more blue in the photo than it does in real life but goes on nails a beautiful green hue. I've reviewed the top coat and another colour here if you want a more detailed description.

Soap and Glory Sexy Motherpucker Matte Lipstick in Pom Pom
This is another product that I've been looking at for a few weeks but finally bit the bullet and brought it today. Usually a girl who goes for reds and deep berry tones I've been trying to incoporate more pink tones into my lipstick collection. And this fits in perfectly, it's a deeper pink than most with a slight brown undertone but it's not got a hint of berry tone in it. I'll probably review this if I really like it.

2True Matte Lipstick in Shade 3
Another lipstick I picked up today on my hunt for more pink toned lipsticks was this one. It's slightly less brown toned than the Soap and Glory one but still has that nice pink tone to it. I was a little annoyed to get it home and find a slight scuff to the top even though it'd been sellotaped shut. It was slightly cheaper than other products I brought today so I'm not too worried if I don't like it.

P.S. Love Matte Long Lasting Lipstick
After hearing Khila from MsBudgetBeauty rave about Primark's make up range I thought I'd give it a go. I obviously went for the only matte formula lipstick they had and have been happily surprised when I opened it. From the colour at the end I thought it would be a bright almost barbie like pink but when I opened it I found it to be a more mid toned pink that will probably suit my skin tone better. I will definitely be reviewing this once I've given it a go.

P.S. Love Lip Liner Pencil 
I picked up two of these lip liners after hearing about them from Khila. My local Primark only had two shades, one which is a mid toned pink and the other which is a standard red. When swatched these gave a nice colour pay off and glided nicely on the skin. The mid toned pink on me looks a little more browny but it still wears nicely on my lips. The red I haven't tried on but know it will go brilliantly under my massive collection of red lipsticks.

Superdrug Blending Brush 
This is a product I do regret buying and wish I had picked up a slightly more expensive version instead. It's basically a flat oval ended brush that is perfect for blending out eye shadow and concealer. It's soft and will probably work in the way I want it but I do think I should have opted for the Real Techniques version.

That's it for this haul. I don't think that there will be another one of this magnitude for a while but you never know when I'm left alone in an make up aisle. Have any of you tried these products? Do you have recommendations? Let me know in the comments below.

My Top 3 Summer Fragrances

If there is one thing I hoard more than lipsticks in my beauty stash it's perfume. I have a whole draw full but always find myself reaching for the same ones. Coincidentally the three I've been reaching for the most recently are perfect for this time of year, especially during this heatwave we've been having.

Rosie For Autograph Eau De Parfum
This is my all time favourite perfume. I know I will be wearing this all year round but if you're looking for a light yet long lasting fragrance then this is right up your street. I'm not usually a fan of floral scents but I fell in love with it immediately. I think it has something to do with the fact that there's only one ingredient being the Centifolia Rose. It's an classic, elegant fragrance that is perfect for both day and night. I highly recommend that you go give it a sniff in your local Marks And Spencers

Hugo Boss Ma Vie 
This is another floral scent that has changed how I look at floral scents. I only have a sample size of this so I find myself using this less than the others but I still have mad love for this. With hints of pink freesia, jasmine and rose this is the perfect daytime fragrance. It is advertised as being feminine yet modern which it will suit a wider age range than some of the other fragrances out there.

Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely
Before Rosie Huntington Whiteley released her fragrance this was my favourite of all time. I'm not saying I don't love it but Rosie's fragrance gets worn more often than this. This is one of the more complex scents out there with more notes than I'm actually used to smelling. The notes that stand out the most to me when I smell it are Orchid, White Musk, White Amber, Rosewood and Lavender. I really can't think of another word than lovely to describe this fragrance. It suits everyone and has brilliant lasting power. It makes a perfect scent for both daytime and nighttime.

Have you smelt any of these? Are any of these your favourites? Do you have recommendations? If so let me know in the comments.