Branching Out–Cleansers Part Ein

Hallo!

To ease myself back into things for the 3746th time I thought I’d do a little review of a product I recently finished from a brand I’m new to. Firstly though, a small intro..

Cleansing to me is washing my face. My skin, as I’ve mentioned before, is normal to combination, it varies with the seasons and how my face feels when it wakes up. It is fairly well behaved in terms of spots, these are usually kept to my chin and products don’t break me out with the exception of one or two. All I ask of a cleanser is that it takes the crap off my face and doesn’t make my skin feel tight and nasty afterwards (looking at you Clinique facial soap..) over the years I have used many cleansers and rarely stick to one for long and I was curious about following a skin care ‘regime’ as such

Ages and AAAGGGGES ago on a blog I saw a post about Alpha-H’s Online Skin Consultation, where you answer questions about your skin type and a beauty therapist replies a few days later with some product suggestions. It’s an Australian brand that uses the AHA Glycolic Acid in their products (read more about that here), something I have been interested in. When the therapist replied to my form suggesting the Renew & Resurface Kit it amazingly coincided with the realisation that my Tesco vouchers were due to expire and they could be spent at Beautyexpert.co.uk! I spotted the kit and a few days later it was mine, all mine!

Well, if I was a normal, organised lady I’d be reviewing the entire kit right now. Me being me though, I lost some of it which has now been refound but I thought I’d get started regardless. Purely because I used it twice a day rather than the weekly/whenever I remember use of the masks etc in this kit, the first product I finished was the Triple Action Cleanser

This was a 50ml bottle, at first I was a bit concerned about the number of applications I could get from this but you do only need a little blob so I managed to get over three weeks twice daily use out of this. I don’t have a picture of the product itself but there isn’t much point, it’s a clear gel without any scent. It’s ‘triple action’ from the website these seem to be the minimisation of excess oil and spread of bacteria as well as removing makeup.

I think it is purely because this is clear, scentless and looks pretty unremarkable that I was apprehensive about the cleansers ability to do all this. I was actually pleasantly surprised! The first time I used it I thought my skin felt a little tight afterwards which I hate, making me hesitant to use it again but I’m glad I did as it never happened again. I applied it to damp skin, rubbing over my eyes if need be (no stinging or cloudiness!) and removed it with the micro fibre face cloth provided in the kit (not pictured as my mum has snaffled it!) and it really did remove all makeup including stubborn mascara! The waterproof one I wore on holiday needed a little more work but everything else came off like a breeze.

I don’t know how this would be on dry skin as its for normal, oily and combination types but if you fit those categories and have the moolah I’d say it’s great, it’s like washing with an awesome water that takes everything off without any overpowering smells or tightness. When I use the other cleansers I have I am definitely going to buy the normal size though it is £23 for 200ml from Beauty Expert. It hasn’t quite taken the place of my beloved Liz Earle but it is up there with one of my faves :)

In other news, Friday was the fluffers first day outside in their new run..

Fluff is kind of sat on Brownie and you might notice that she has paint all over her. We have been painting the doors downstairs and despite putting up a board so she couldn’t get near them she managed to jump over and coat herself regardless. I’ve managed to get most of it off but it is everywhere. She is definitely the mischief of the two!

I hope you’ve all had a good weekend and don’t have a two day hangover like I clearly will!

Inky Blue Sparkles!!

Bonjourno! I hope you are all well…. And I hope you are not as depressed as me facing six months of awful weather after last weeks sunshine : ( bad times. I might do a bird and fly south for the winter.

To ease myself pack into the swing of this posting lark I thought I’d begin with the polish I was wearing until about 20 minutes ago.

This is two layers of American Apparel’s Cameo Blue topped with one coat of China Glaze’s Skyscraper from their recent Metro collection.

Cameo Blue is a delight, two coater with a quick drying time. Skyscraper is beautiful in the bottle and is at times on the nail but sometimes I looked at it and felt a bit underwhelmed.

This is it looking sparkly and beautiful, which it does the majority of the time. I will try it by itself and on top of a few others to see if I can make it look it’s best. Regardless, I really liked this mani, dark inky blue is my fave!

Ahhhhhh *angels sing* beautiful Skyscraper in the bottle

I did a little comparison so you could also see just Cameo Blue and Skyscraper, this shows two coats of each..

L – R Skyscraper, Cameo Blue (2 coats) & Skyscraper (1 coat), Cameo Blue

L – R Cameo Blue, Cameo Blue & Skyscraper, Skyscraper, Cameo Blue & Skyscraper

Also note – Skyscraper is a total bitch to remove… I love glitters but times like these make me want to punch them all in the face. And I’m a lover not a fighter, that’s how bad it gets.

When bloggers were showing the collection, to me Skyscraper stood out. I’m glad I snapped it up when I saw it at Sally’s but I kind of feel it could look prettier than it did in this instance. I won’t give up! I need a quest while I am trying to find a ‘proper’ job, this could well be it.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any suggestions for more inky blue shades I could feast my eyes on?!

Cup Of Tea And A Catch Up

Hello there ladies!

It has probably escaped your notice but I have been missing for a good few weeks now. In the last month and a bit I have been doing….

*Beryl Cook exhibition at Bristol Museum

*Gypsy Caravan at Bristol Museum – apparently when I was little I thought Rosie & Jim lived in there….

*Red Arrows flying at Bristol Balloon Fiesta – pic taken from top of M Shed

*YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Paris w/miserable weather…pic taken from beside the Seine

*Eindhoven, how cool is this!

*Whitby

*Kardamena in Kos – view from our hotel

*It was my birthday while we were there, this is the cocktail made for me….the Dizzy Jizz…..

*View from a restaurant we ate at on the last day

*Some new additions to the fam! This is Constanzia (Connie)

*And this is Carmella

*A blurry but cute shot

So that’s the long and short of it…. the rabbits have random names because I love Italian or Spanish names and if they were boys they’d be Santino and Fredo like from the Godfather. However they are both ladies and I couldn’t think of any girl names so they are Carmella and Constanzia, also from the Godfather. If anyone has any suggestions let me know, they are still bubs so I am not opposed to changing their names just yet!

I hope you guys are all well and had a great summer!!! Normal posting will resume shortly! xx

August FML

First things first.

Loads of crap has been going on in England the last few days and it’s pretty frightening. I am going to say no more but its horrifying that people thing it’s acceptable to act the way they have been. I don’t follow any religion or anything. I live by one code.

Source

EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY

I think more people should.

Onto other less pressing matters. Look what I found!

It does look cheap as hell but it’s cute! I got it from a charity shop, I was a tiny bit worried I’d find some old lady knickers inside but someone had done a through job cleaning it out! No hidden knick knacks to be found.

Love the detail! This one is coming on holiday fo sho!

Best bit haha! I’ve never really scoured the charity shops in my local town before but defo will check it out more now! I thought I’d be full of dead ladies M&S belongings……

Loving the things I got the other day! Here is a photo of my wearing a few of my new goodies…

It looks a bit off as I had to crop my friend out and I was already a bit tiddly, good old Natch!

I was wearing Bourjois Healthy Mix, Topshop Neon Rose blush with Nars Deep Throat on top, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, St Tropez Illuminator and Nars Laguna. I’m wearing Nars Dogon on my eyes with a bit of Urban Decay liner and Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara.

It was my friend’s dad’s 60th with a marquee in his huge garden and fireworks and LOTS of cider! Ended with me trying pistachios for the first time (I know) NOMNOMNOMNOM. All in all good weekend.

Another good thing of this week is something that has been pretty awesome for a good few years now.

Source

The Wire, if you didn’t know already, is ace. I’ve watched it all before but pretty sporadically (Clueless expanding my vocabulary) and my brother got me all 5 series on DVD for Christmas. This is my first chance to actually plough through and watch them one after another. That is Omar Little and he is one of my faves. If you get a chance, watch it. And it might seem a little boring and slow going but persevere, it’s epic!

The last point of this random ramble…I’m trying to watch more films. I like them and after years of falling asleep halfway through I can now just about stay conscious for 90 minutes so I figured I should make use of this ‘talent’. My ex was a film lover and I feel kinda out of the loop now, can any of you help a brother out with some suggestions please? Doesn’t have to be new, just good. I’m willing to watch almost anything….

Wow well done if you’ve made it…. hope your having good weeks! xo

Experimental FOTD

Hm, maybe that was a bit extreme. It’s experimental for me but not necessarily for anyone else…

I was procrastinating (if ever I had a talent, this would be it) yesterday and thinking about any makeup looks I want to try. I remembered Kim Kardashian sported a double winged liner look aggges ago and thought it might be worth a go. These last few weeks I’ve been working on my winged liner, why not double the fun?!

So I kind of chickened out of doing both wings with actual liner liner and this is where I ended up…

Argh I have no idea why my eyebrows look so straggly, they look fine in real life. Maybe a small trim is in order.

And a gormless face. What a treat for you all!

Face – MAC Studio Moisture Tint in Light, GOSH Touch Up concealer in 1, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in 2, Nars Deep Throat blush, St Tropez Illuminator in Rose, Accessorize bronzer in Monaco, Guerlain Meterorites Perles in 02

Eyes – MAC Painterly paint pot, MUA Heaven and Earth palette, No7 cream eyeliner

Lips – MAC Gentle Simmer

I took loads of full face pictures but the lighting was appalling, this was the best of a bad bunch. And I OD’d on the bronzer and had to do a bit of blendy blendy blending which muddied up the colours a little. No mind, it was only to a local old man pub, I felt overdone as it was.

I quite like the No7 cream liner, a bit late on the bandwagon seeing as you can’t get it any more…I was under the impression it would run everywhere but I’ve worn it on a few sweaty nights out lately and it’s held up great! You hardly need any too so it will hopefully last until the end of time.

What do you think? Do you take much inspiration from celebrities? I don’t really pay much attention to celebrities so I draw more from what I see on blogs…not that I am experimental in the first place……

Ballin.

I don’t know what ballin or balling means. I have Destiny’s Child Greatest Hits CD in my car and balling is just about every other word on that album. From what I can gather it is something to do with money….. I feel so down with the kids. Like Baaaddad from Adam & Joe…..anyone? If any of you can explain balling to me in 60 words or less I’d appreciate it : )

Anyway onto more pressing matters. The today I finished work early and went to meet my mum in town for a bit of late afternoon shoppage. Luckily she had to stay at work a bit longer so I had a while to peruse the shops by myself. She gets pissed off if I buy more makeup y’see. Not that her disapproval stops me.

This picture really makes the bag seem bigger than it is. I was thinking at work about what I would like to buy, I need clothes including a maxi skirt (love having cool legs when it’s hot without having to shave/fake tan!) and I have been admiring the Clarins summer bronzer, the mosaic one. But if I’m thinking about that, why not Dior Aurora? I think watching Wayne’s World the other day brought Aurora back into my subconscious. In fact, this is what happened…

Dogon duo eyeshadow and Laguna bronzer. The gent at SpaceNK in Harvey Nichols was great. In fact, two of the three nice people I have encountered in that beauty department have been on the SpaceNK bit. One of the ladies on Shu Uemura was the rudest I’ve ever come across but that’s another tale.

Textbook shit photo:

A trip to Bristol isn’t complete without a minor scavenge in either Boots or Superdrug

Famous bronzer in Bali (half price!) and 3 more pout paints. I know. The more swatches I see the more I want them alllllll muaha. I now have added Peachy Keen, Minx and Rosette to my collection. Woo and yay indeed.

My mad photography skillz boggle the mind.

High point of the day – a (probably) mentally unstable man telling me I had a pretty dress on. Plus the nice man in SpaceNK and purchasing. One of my true loves.

What do you think guys?

Also I have a birthday coming up in around 6 weeks, do you have any suggestions for upcoming things I might like but not be able to afford?

Vs: Night Time Hair Care

Bonjourno! I hope this finds you well!

Just a little un today for a change! I have said before how I am trying to make an effort with my hair. Until a few months ago it was such a birds nest I didn’t really brush it. It was just too much effort. However since the purchase of the Tangle Teezer etc it is behaving much better!

I wear cream on my face while I’m asleep, why not try something on my hair to maintain it? I have had the Umberto Giannini product for a few months and the L’Oreal a few weeks. I have been using them alternately and here are my thoughts…

Essentially they both claim the same thing, healthy looking shiny hair with a lightweight formula that won’t need rinsing and won’t stain your pillow.

Hm.

On the left is Umberto Giannini, right is L’Oreal.

You can see the L’Oreal formula looks more fluid and lightweight, the UG one is more of a heavy cream. I use one pump of the L’Oreal which is a little more than the amount there, more than enough to cover the ends of my hair. I try to use the same amount of the UG but as it is in a tube the amount is much more difficult to control. As it is more stodgy it is also harder to distribute evenly through my hair.

The UG balm feels heavier on my hair and takes longer to ‘dry’….it kind of sets more than dries actually. It’s hard to describe, if I touch my hair I get residue even if it’s not a actual tangible amount my hands feel like they have stuff on them. Does that make sense? The L’Oreal one does dry pretty quickly and leaves my hair feeling soft like it is actually conditioning it, as opposed to coating it.

As for pillow residue and a no rinse formula? You know what I’m going to say. I feel like I have to have a towel over my pillow with the UG one and it does nothing for the condition of my hair. I have experimented with amounts but it rarely feels any different. I would not feel comfortable going out the next day without washing my hair. On the other hand the L’Oreal just sinks in leaving no residue, just silky smooth ends.

No contest. L’Oreal wins. The UG one is £5.61 from Boots, the L’Oreal one was around the same price when I had my eye on it a few months ago but my Mum got it for me for under £4 on one of those clearance shelves they have at the end of aisles sometimes. I guess this means it might be being discontinued so if you see it and fancy trying, snag it!

I really like L’Oreal’s Elvive range, I really wish they weren’t such massive animal testers. Sort it out!

What do you think? Have you ever used anything like this? I need recommendations! I am almost out of my Elvive Full Restore 5 spray thing as well, it’s kind of like a leave-in conditioner. I love it, it has without a doubt improved the condition of my hair but I hesitate to repurchase because of the animal testing. Any alternative suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

xoxo (I feel like Gossip Girl)