FAVOURITES WEEK | HIGH END SKINCARE

Skincare is something we are always told to get right, as when that is perfect it creates the best possible foundation for our make up.  And obviously it helps to keep your skin looking young and beautiful too!  

I'm no expert at all on what skincare is best etc., but these bits that I have picked out as my favourites are ones that have made a noticeable difference to the condition of my skin.

I bought Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair after seeing so many positive reviews on other blogs, and I really love it.  I've had it since around December and I've still got over half of it left, so it earns it's price tag in lasting power.  I love the non greasy formula and I do believe that my skin, especially my eye area, looks better and smoother since using it.

Now I know that this technically blurs the line a bit between skincare and make up, but Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster has made it here because it is mixed with my moisturiser to enhance my complexion and give it a boost of much needed colour.  I love that I can just mix a couple of drops of this into my night cream and by morning my face has a subtle and totally natural looking tan.  I cannot recommend this enough, if you have a very fair complexion like me then I'd definitely consider this if you're after a easy way to get a golden glow.  

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Instant Boost Skin Tonic are two products that I will always repurchase and use for taking my make up off at night.  The hot cloth cleanser is gentle yet removes my make up easily and thoroughly, along with the muslin cloths that help to exfoliate too.  I use the skin tonic afterwards as a toner, and it makes my skin feel squeaky clean and refreshed - I think it's always good to use it as it can sometimes feel that cleansers leave some trace behind.

Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 eye cream is a product that I wear over my moisturiser to give my eye area some extra protection from the sun, and I would always repurchase it now.  I think sPF is so important, and as the eye area is extra fragile and prone to aging, I think this cream is excellent for giving it a boost - and the bonus is that it isn't greasy and the formula is really light!

Benefit It's Potent eye cream is something I use a small amount of to hide my dark circles.  I'm not sure what kind of magic it is but somehow this cream seems to fade my dark circles so that they are much less noticeable and therefore much easier to conceal!  I end up using much less concealer and therefore no little creases appear throughout the day.  You also need only the tiniest amount of this so it is going to last absolutely ages.  

Last up is Charlotte Tilbury Lip Magic, which is probably the priciest but best lip balm on the market!  I won this in an instagram competition, and I love it!  My lips get dry all year round, and this contains Propolis which is made by bees and has powerful healing properties.  On top of that it also has vitamin e, hyaluronic acid, argan oil and shea butter - a pretty impressive list of ingredients!  I love how it leaves my lips feeling super soft and conditioned, and it works a a long term fix rather than just hydrating them for a few hours before needing to be reapplied.  

My last post will be my favourite drugstore skin care products!  What are you favourite high end products?  Do you like any of these? xx

Review | Clinique Even Better Foundation

 

Hey everyone :)  I thought that I would do a review of my latest foundation, Clinque Even Better.  I bought this a few weeks ago after trawling for what felt like ages through reviews of different medium/full coverage foundations, I watched a fair few You Tube reviews and also read through tonnes of reviews on Make Up Alley as well as obviously looking to see what other bloggers thought.  It’s not a foundation that’s been doing the rounds all that recently, unlike say Silk Creme or something, but I chose this as I had read some very good things and at £22 it cost a little (although not too much) less than some other foundations I have tried. 

 

I bought this in the shade ‘fair’, for obvious reasons!  It is a great match to my skin, if a little warmer than my tone but it is very blendable and looks perfect when it is all on.  It is a medium buildable coverage I would say, and one of the things that I love most about is that it covers redness really well.  I get redness in the areas around the sides of my nose spreading onto my cheeks, and annoyingly very little covers it completely; I end up having to layer on concealer and this works temporarily but it also breaks me out.  This foundation thoroughly covered these problem areas, admittedly I did have to put a little more product on than the rest of my face, but overall I am really impressed that the redness is covered and no extra powder or concealer was necessary! 

 

The finish of this foundation is a lovely dewy glow, which is just what I have been looking for for so long!  It leaves a lovely silky, dewy look that manages to stay clear of looking at all greasy, and on top of that it isn’t cakey at all and it feels so light and weightless.  Basically it is like my skin but better, which is what we all want from a foundation I think!  The photos don’t really show the finish well, but believe me it is lovely and worth every penny! 

 

I will definitely be using this up and when it’s gone I will repurchase it – this never happens with foundation, I usually look forward to trying a new one every month or two, as bad as that sounds!  There is also a claim (I can’t actually remember if I read it on the box or online) that this foundation will also help to improve the overall look of your skin over time, but having only used this for a couple of weeks and also using other skin care, I can’t really say whether this is true for me or not-if I notice anything in the meantime I will be sure to update you! 

 

The coverage is ideal for me over the summer, it is medium so it gives me a great base but it is also light and doesn’t feel like it’s just sinking in to my pores.  I highly recommend this, especially if you like to have more coverage but are looking for something a little lighter for the summer.

 

Have you tried this foundation? xx 

 

What I Bought This Week #2

What I Bought This Week #2

Hey!  Please note that these rather extravagant purchases (for me anyway) were made because I was caught up in the event that was Payday, a joyous occasion that comes round every month and causes me to spend most of what I was paid in one go and live off nothing for the next four weeks.  It’s a vicious circle but I see no end to it just yet as I am so bad at controlling my spending.

Anyhow, I ended up at Westfield this weekend, which resulted in the above purchases.

H&M Leather Look Gilet (£14.99)

I could not believe that this was only £14.99!  I had to look twice because I thought it was a mistake but nope, it really was that cheap.  I had wondered about getting one of these for a while now, and when I saw this and how much it cost, I just went for it and bought it.  I will probably wear this with various t shirts in summer and even over some of my summer dresses that I haven’t bought yet. 

Topshop Dungarees (£38)

I’m afraid that this little story does not end well.  I did not try these on in the shop at the time because I really really hate shop changing rooms, I swear that I never look worse than when I am in those things!  So I just picked up my usual size and hoped for the best.  When I got them home and tried them on they fit pretty well, but they shrunk me!  I am only 5’1” and when I put these on for some reason I seemed to shrink down to the height of an average 11 year old.  The shorts part of them also sat right in the middle of my hips, and the pockets are here too and they made me look really wide and more pear shaped than ever :(  So I am afraid that these will have to be returned asap. 

H&M Skull Print Lace Top (£7.99)

I bought this because I thought it looked cute and I can see me wearing it over brightly coloured vest tops etc, skulls seem to be a common theme with me lately!

Clinique Even Better Foundation (£23, House of Fraser)

I bought this because I have read some good reviews on it and I thought that for the summer I would like some lighter foundation that looks lovely and dewy but also still gives good coverage.  Apparently this does all of those things, so I will give it a try and expect a review shortly!

Benefit They’re Real Mascara (£19.50, Boots)

I have used this before and was rather impressed with it, so I thought that while I still have the funds I would repurchase.

Tea Tree Water (£3.95, Lush)

This is a toning water that supposedly helps calm your skin down and help fight any breakouts.  The day I purchased this was the day that I noticed some spots starting to form under my skin so I bought this as I wanted something natural to try that wasn’t packed with chemicals, so I shall see if it helps!

Rose Gold Style Skull Necklace (£6.50, Topshop)

Cute, end of!

Linea Bag (£63, House of Fraser)

This was my special present to myself yesterday, it had 20% off so it went straight to the till with me.  I can’t stop looking at it, it is a thing of beauty.  It’s pretty big and there are loads of compartments inside (the inside is pink!) and it looks way more expenive than it was even though to me £63 is expensive and yeah I love it!

So there we have it, some fairly reckless spending straight after pay day.  What have you been buying this week?  Do you splurge as soon as payday comes around?! xx