A Few Bits From Lush: Snow Fairy, Cupcake and Herbalism

I've been finding myself going to Lush more and more in recent months. Two of their skin care products, Tea Tree Water and Grease Lightening are already staple in my skin care regime and I had a good experience with their solid shampoos and conditioners when I went travelling in the summer.

When I found myself with a unexpected free afternoon today, I headed into Lush, with the aim of treating my skin to a face mask to help calm it after a recent break out. I always find the staff in Lush are extremely helpful and after saying I was looking for a face mask suitable to oily skin, I was pointed towards Cupcake, a luxuriously chocolate smelling face mask. The face mask is clay based, or rather has rhassoul mud which works to the same effect, so it's great for absorbing excess oil. It's quite thick to apply and even messier to wash off. It does go a little bit stiff but nothing uncomfortable. It's definitely softening and it did calm my skin although couldn't work any miracle on the beast I have brewing on my chin. And honestly, the smell is a huge attraction because it really does smell so good you could almost eat it.

From one smelly item to another, it is of course the legendary Snow Fairy, the limited edition shower gel that Lush bring out for Christmas ever year. I feel like it almost doesn't need an introduction, it's that well known. It's the sugar sweet candy floss scent that gets most people- you either love it or hate it and after umm-ing and aah-ing about it for the past two Christmas, I finally thought, what the hell and bought a bottle. And I'm so glad I did. It smells amazing in the shower and it smells amazing out of the shower.

Lastly, I was given a small sample of Herbalism face cleanser to try when I spoke to the assistant about my skin care regime. I always appreciate when brands give you sample of things to try that are actually relevant to you! Much like Cupcake, Herbalism is clay based and it's a bit of an odd consistency that I still have mixed feelings about. You mix it with water to form a paste and then use it on your skin. It has a mild exfoliant effect from rice bran and ground almonds but it's not something you could use to take your make up. The jury is out on this one still. I think I prefer products which can do the whole job lot in one and then I can just crawl into bed all the sooner.

Do you have any of these products?

What are your views on them or Lush?

xx

Product Review- Bioderma Micellar Sensibio Water

I know what you're thinking- that I'm a bit late to the party with this one. But the fact is that I've been dying to try Bioderma ever since I saw the first posts about it doing the rounds on Blogger. It sounded like some HG product for taking off make up but of course, to being with, you could only seem to get in France. Well I was walking around Granada the other day and spied this in the window of a pharmacy. I hadn't seen it sold anywhere else so instantly jumped at the chance.

And to be honest, it is absolutely fabulous for taking off make up. One of my biggest gripes with a lot of facial cleansers or make up wipes is the way that it a)stings your eyes or b) you have to rub your eyes really hard and still end up looking like a panda. Well not with Bioderma. I apply it with a cotton pad before I go to bed and simply hold it to my eye for a little while and it just comes off with one wipe. Without stinging either, as long as you're not too overly generous with how much you use. It also takes off foundation pretty well too although it should be remembered that Bioderma is not a cleanser. It's not going to give you the deeper cleaning that you expect with a cleanser. Ideally, you want to be using this before you wash your face properly to ensure that all your make up is off before you hit the pillow. This is the standard bottle that is designed for sensitive skin but I believe you can also get one designed for oily skin also, although I'm yet to spot it anywhere in Spain. Another handy little perk is the packaging which has a little pump that you press a cotton wool pad on. It's by no means essential but is a good way to control how much you're using. One pump is equivalent to one mascara-ed eye I find.
A drawback is the price. I bought this for 20 euros which is roughly £17 but you do get a bottle of 500ml which I suspect would last a rather long time. You can buy Bioderma online in the Uk and I'm sure I heard rumours of it arriving in Boots, but I'm not sure. If anyone can confirm, let me know. Or, of course, the next time you head on a little EU holiday, be sure to check out the pharmacies!

Hope you guys are keeping well and warm!

The winter has arrived very suddenly here in Granada.

xx

An Oldie But A Goodie- Liz Earle Cleanse And Polish

I know what your thinking. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish like two years late to the scene. But the truth of the matter is that this is my second time round with Liz Earle. I was bought it for Christmas at the time when this had just taken the blogging world by storm and as such, didn't feel the need to write about it. I mean, come on, it was everywhere. And since then, I've tried a lot of different skin care including Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean and La Roche Posay. But nothing has ever really come close to Cleanse and Polish. So recently when I had a horrible break out, I just thought sod it and bought it again. One of the key things I like about C&P is that it fantastic and removing makeup. Every last scrap of stubborn eye makeup just come straight off, no rubbing and without making my eyes sting and red. 

It does leave my face feeling a bit oily afterwards, which is down to all the essential oils (Rosemary, Eucalyptus and Camomile) in it but with a quick swipe with the toner afterwards, not a problem. I've always found C&P makes my face look so fresh and calms down any redness from blemishes. Both smell lovely and  herbal. I don't know quite how to describe it. I feel like the toner just has come with it- like they come as a pair. It's the cleanser that's the real winner here. You are supposed to use it with a muslin cloth but I've conveniently lost mine, but this helps to exfoliate the skin as well.

So really this post is just sharing a re-found love. Maybe if you didn't go for all the hype the first time round, it would be something you consider now. You can buy it online, in a lot of John Lewis stores and a very limited number of Boots. The Cleanser and Toner are both £13.25. Pricey but totally worth it in my opinion.

What are your thought on C&P?

Hope you guys are having a nice weekend

xx

Top 12 of 2012

So I thought today of all days would be the perfect time to share with you my Top 12 of 2012. It's a complete mix of things- beauty, clothes, music etc etc but these are really things that I could not have lived without throughout 2012.

In no particular order

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

I've had this for quite a while now actually but it's still something I couldn't live without. I use it religiously every time I wash my hair and it's great for curly hair like mine. It also helps keep it healthy and happy and I'm proud to say my hair is in great condition.

Real Techniques Eye Brushes

A fairly recent purchase and something I never quite got round to photographing for my blog. I love these brushes and they're great quality. Now I've started branching out a bit in regards to eye make up, I feel I can properly follow all those lovely tutorials you see on Youtube

MAC Fanfare Lipstick

I bought this a while ago and haven't stopped wearing  it since. It goes great with my skin tone and isn't too much of a bright pink so it can be worn day or night. A very flattering and versatile lipstick.

ASOS Leather Jacket

This jacket has done me proud. I basically live in it. 

It's warm, well made and a bargain at £100 for real leather

MAC Ricepaper Eyeshadow

My first MAC eyeshadow and the one that set me off on a quest to complete a 15x palette... I'm 2/3 of the way there now. A gorgeous pale gold that works great as a base and lightens up the eye area. 

Great if you're a glasses wearer like me

Body Shop Seaweed Range

Throughout this year, I've been working my way through quite a few new skin care brands and while usually initially impressed with them, so many of them ended up drying out my skin. Enter The Body Shop. A great range and perfect for combination/oily skin. This range has not dried me out, is gentle on the skin and gets stubborn eye makeup off

Converse

Again, quite a recent purchase but again something that I have lived in. Apart from when it's really raining, cuz they're not so great for that... Very comfortable and makes an outfit look instantly a combination of casual and cool

Urban Outfitters Graphic Tee's

I've always loved UO t-shirts. They're great for when I need to chuck something on for uni with a pair of jeans but at their full price, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. But when they're in the sale and/or there are student discounts going around, I jump at the chance.

Ben Howard

2012 was the year I discovered and fell in love with Ben Howard and his music. I first came across him when he did an eerily good rendition of Call Me Maybe. Since then, I've hunted down as much of his music as I can but my favourite would still have to be Keep Your Head Up

Vera Wang Princess Night Perfume

My boyfriend bought me this perfume after months of hinting on his way back from a holiday in the summer. It's a very sweet fragrance- perhaps not to everyone's liking- but I love it and recommend everyone to go give it a whiff if they have the chance

Swimming

Bit off an odd one but 2012 was the year I started to swim. I've never been a particularly good swimmer having nearly drowned when I was very young. I started going with my sister in the summer and have kept it up since. It's great exercise, has really helped my asthma and my confidence in the water. I've also taught myself how to do the strokes properly and I plan to keep improving

Origins Night-a-Mins

Jusssst sneaking in to 2012, is this moisturiser. I know I've only had it a week but it's left such an impression on me, I had to include it. It's helped reduce the appearance of blemishes as they fade and has left my skin feeling much healthier and softer in the mornings

And those are my top 12 of 2012!

Let me know if you have anything similar on your blogs- I love seeing what products people have really enjoyed this year. 2012 has been a great year for my blogs- it's grown so much (thank you Twitter...) and I'd like to take the chance to say hello to all my new followers this year and thank you for joining my blog!

I hope you all have a great NYE and I'll see you all in 2013

Onwards and upwards!

xx

Merry Christmas and Sales Bargains

Heels- Zara Sale

Heels- New Look Sale

Blazer- River Island Sale

Dress- Zara Sale

Origins- Night-A- Mins

Hello! Hope you all had a good Christmas with lots of nice things!

Christmas isn't really a big affair in my house- minimal decorations or fuss and we don't go all out for presents as we'd all rather hit the sales/keep it to a smaller budget. So I thought I'd show you what I've snapped up so far. A few bargains but nothing insane. I'm particularly pleased with the two pairs of heels- both pairs that I had had my eye on prior to the sales and luckily were reduced. I got a pair of Superdry trackies actually for Christmas and they are so soft and warm! Perfect for when I'm trudging to the gym/ really cannot be bothered for an early start at uni.

But the real bargain that I got has yet to come. I did an order with Urban Outfitters- 4 items all in the sale. If I had bought them all at full price, they would have come in at just over £140. In the sale- around £83. I then managed to get student discount and free delivery on top of that so the total came to just over £70! Bargain! Including a new pair of black jeans. So I'm really chuffed for that but I'm just patiently waiting for the dispatch notice. I go back to university on the 5th and I ordered it to my home address so I'm hoping it gets here on time!

Apart from that, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed with how much work I have to do still including 3 deadlines in the first week and then 2 exams and an essay in the two weeks after that. Slightly stressed but it because my timetable is reduced, hopefully I'll motivate myself to get to the library most days and power through the revision!

So I hope you are all keeping well and warm

And have a fabulous New Year

xx

Skincare Shake-Up- The Body Shop Seaweed Range Review

Eurgh, why is my camera so noisy. Seriously cannot wait to get my new one.

Anywho, I recently decided to change up my skin care routine. I had been using until recently the La Roche Posay Effaclar- ( you can read my review of La Roche Posay here) Overall I wasn't that impressed with it and it probably wasn't worth the hefty price tag. I also had an issue with my skin realllllly drying out with it. It just wasn't for me in the end.

So the quest for holy grail skin care continues and whilst I considered going more up market- say to Clarin's etc, I remembered my fondness for Body Shop products. I always feel they get a little side lined in the skin care market as they're not something you could snap up in any Boot's Stores or supermarket. I really wanted something gentle but removed make up and wouldn't dry me out.

And so far, so good. The first time I used it I couldn't believe how soft my skin was! It's also fine at removing stubborn eye make up with a little gentle rubbing. I also bought a little exfoliating pad to  help brush away any dead skin cells. I'm really intrigued to know if anyone with oily/combination skin has the same problem with me with random dry bits of skin, especially in the T zone area? Let me know cuz I'd love to know how you battle that.

However, it's early days and I think I need to give products more time before I can really make my mind up on them.

In other news, uni has been hectic with deadline after deadline at the moment. I spent most the weekend avoiding an essay I really do not want to do. Oh, and I dyed my hair back to black. Much much better.

Roll on the holidays...

My blogger has randomly decided it doesn't like central alignment any more. But either way, have a great week xx

Skincare ShakeUp- La Roche Posay Effaclar Review

 Since coming home from uni, my skin has not been happy. I think it's been the change in diet combined with hormonal outbreaks. I would definately say that my skin has changed recently. While I used to get blemishes and spot predominately on my forehead and temple areas, now it's all moved down south to around my mouth and jawline. Very peculiar and I'd be intrigued to know if that means anything.
Desde que volví de mi universidad, mi piel no ha sido feliz. Creo que ha sido el cambio del régimen combinado con brotes hormonales. Mientras que tenía los granos predominantemente en mi frente y mis sienes, ahora ha cambiado a mi boca y mi linea de mandíbula. Muy extraño y me encantaría saber si eso significa algo.

So needless to say, my skin routine wasn't doing me any favour and eventually, after eyeing it up for a while, I bought the La Roche Posay Effaclar designed for oily sensitive skin. The whole Effaclar range is designed for that skin type.
As you can see, it's a foaming gel but because it is soap and importantly, alcohol free it doesn't dry your skin out. It's really very gentle on the skin and leaves my skin feeling clean, soft and not tight. It's also good at removing make up but watch out for your eyes with this one.
Huelga decir que mi rutina de cuidado de piel no me hizo un favor y eventualment, despues de un rato de hacer ojitos, compré La Roche Posay Effaclar desiñado para la piel sensible y grasa. Toda la gama de productos es desiñada para este tipo de piel.
Como se puede ver, es un gel de espuma pero, porque no contiene jabón ni alcool, no se seque la piel. Es muy suave en la piel and deja mi piel con una sensación limpia y suave. Tambien, es muy bueno para quitar el maquillaje pero evita los ojos! 

I was having trouble with a row of underground lurker spots- you know the ones I mean- that had appeared on my cheekbone because of *that* time of the month. Nothing was helping get rid of them. And then boom, 2 days after using this, they had massively reduced in size and redness. I couldn't believe! And now a week later, they've completely vanished and it's also beginning to help with the dark fade marks I get.
Tuve problemas con una hilera de granos que aparecieron en mi pómulo debido a *este* tiempo del mes. Nada me ayudó. Pues, despues de dos días de usar este producto, habían reducido en tamaño y en rojez. No lo creia! Y ahora, despues de una semana, han  desaparecido completamente y tambien ha comenzado de ayudar con las marcas oscuras que tengo despues de un grano.

I really think this might be my Holy Grail skin care item. It's shot straight to my favourite spot, easily over taking Liz Earle. It's £10 for 200ml's which might seem expensive but you get absolutely loads and you only need a pea sized amount to get a good foam on.
I highly reccommend this to anyone struggling to manage oily skin and I plan on using this one for a good while.
Estoy segura que eso es mi producto de' santo grial' del cuidado de la piel. Es imediatamente mi favorito, adelantando con facilidad Liz Earle. Es £10 por 200ml que quizas parece caro pero tienes mucho y sólo se necesita una cantidad del tamaño de un guisante para tener una buena espuma. Lo recomiendo a todos que luchan contra la piel grasa y pienso que vaya a usar eso para mucho tiempo

Hope this was useful

Have a great day

xx

Product Review: Soap And Glory Peaches And Clean Cleansing Milk

My much beloved Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser is coming to its end and, whilst I was considering repurchasing it, I thought I might as well change it up and try something new. So when I was trawling the Internet, I came across some pretty positive reviews about this and at only £7, it's really not that expensive and I've always liked Soap And Glory skincare.

And rightly so. I really really like this stuff. It's very gentle and leaves my skin feeling super soft. I like to leave it on my face for a few minutes so that it has a chance to soak in and do its job. And I cannot explain how divine the smell is. If you're like me and love fruity smells, you will like this too because as the name suggests, it smells of peachy peachy goodness.

I was also impressed with how good it was at taking my make up off. I wear a lot of eye liner and mascara and I'm beginning to really hate using make up wipes because the rubbing tends to pull my eyelashes out :( But this did the job pretty darn well! I wouldn't say it was as good as the Liz Earle because I think the muslin cloth did a lot of the work also but it all came off and importantly, there was no stinging my eyes. Thumbs up.

As for keeping my skin, I can't really say as my skin's been behaving as of late apart from one hormonal beastie that appeared on my chin a week ago. But I suppose you could say it's doing a good job keeping it clear.

Anyway, that's just my two cents on a potential cheaper alternative to the Liz Earle cleanser.

Hope you're all doing well. I've got a 2000 word essay still to write.

Until next time

xx

Product Review: Clearasil PerfectaWash Vitamins and Extracts Wash Mask

Hello hello how are we all?

I recently signed up to be sent a sample of this new face wash that Clearasil is releasing in the UK and within in a few days, it arrived and I thought I would review it for you. Firstly it smells really nice and with all that avocado and cranberry goodness going on in there, I'm not surprised. It can be used as both a wash and a mask and both times I used it, it left my skin feeling amazingly soft and fresh. Unfortunately it's not the best at removing make up and I was still left with panda eyes after I rinsed it off. I can't help but constantly compare everything to Liz Earle now... Unfortunately the sample only had about two squeezes in it so I can't say how it fare in the long term.

I believe it retails for about £5 and the rest of the range, including an automatic dispenser and refills, comes on the pretty pricey range. And, to me personally, a bit unnecessary. But those are just my two cents and I may consider buying it when Liz Earle run out.

In other news, I've had an amazingly stessful week, what with going back to uni and essay deadlines creeping up, made all the more worse by the fact that my halls of residence has NO hot water or toilets. In order to have a shower or go to the toilet, I have to toddle across to the block opposite us. In all fairness, we are in the oldest block so it's just a bit unlucky.

And my hotmail account got hacked.

*sigh*

How have your weeks been?

Better than mine I hope!

xx

Holy Moly Moustache

Hi guys!

This is just a really quick post today about something quite personal to me but I'm sure is an issue for quite a number of girls. I'm talking about the moustache. Not on guys. On girls. Now obviously it's not thick hair like guys, much much finer but it was still be quite noticeable.

Now this is something I have had to deal with since middle school. I know it was then because certain boys loved to point out its appearance... But there's nothing I can do about it. I do have dark colouring and it does show up in the winter months when I'm not as tanned. But the thing is is that it is really really common so don't stress about it.

I did use to use this to lighten my hair so it wasn't as noticeable. But the one thing I really really hated about this product was the smell! It was supposed to be rose scented but it just smells artificial and of chemicals, so when this is jamming under your nose for 10 minutes, it's not that pleasant. I stopped using this because, after so many years of use, I felt it stopped working as well. I don't know whether the formula was weakened or whether I had just become too used to it.

Nowadays, I use this one which is much better and is an actual hair remover , rather than lightener. And, thank you thank you, it is not heavily scented- in fact is quite neutral. This goes one for a mere 3 minutes but please please be careful with it because any longer and it can really react to your skin. I have had slightly irritated skin for a day or two because I accidently left it on for one or two minutes longer than I should have.

Then you just gently wash it off. I find the best way is to wet a cotton pad and gently go in circle to make sure you get the hair at the roots. And voila! 

It does not grow back bristly- it's the same fine hair that was there before and I like the fact it take a good few weeks before there's any noticeable hair coming back in.

It's only £5 and I highly recommend it!

I hope that this has been useful to anyone with the same problem

Let me know if you have any questions!

xx

Top 11 Of 2011

Happy New Year guys!

I hope you all had a fun time last night, whatever you were doing. It is unfortunately lashing it down with rain where I am at the moment and as such I haven't made it out of my pyjamas today. So, as a way to kill time and avoid Spanish and Portuguese revision, I thought I would do my Top 11 of 2011

Skin

Lis Earle Cleanse and Polish Skin Duo

This is something that I got for Christmas so it's really only managed to sneak into my top 2011 products. But, I've been using it ever since and am already in love with it. I already feel like its doing my skin good and it leaves your skin feeling so so soft. The only criticism I have is that it has quite a strong rose water smell and I *really* don't like artificial rose smells. But that's just me.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation

If you've read my review of this foundation, you will know how much I rave about this foundation. If you haven't, you can read it here because really all the information is there.

But this absolutely my holy grail foundation and I'm so glad I bought it

Ecotools Powder Brush

I use this brush to do both my foundation and my powder and it is a *big* step up from the shoddy e.l.f. Kabuki brush I was using. It is wonderfully soft and really blend my foundation in beautifully.

Eyes

Sleek Storm Palette

The perfect mix of nudes and gold combined with warm darker shades make this the ideal eyeshadow palette for me and I use it nearly everyday. It was something my makeup collection was severely lacking

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara

Again, I have a review of this mascara and so far, it is my perfect mascara that just lengthens and volumises my short lil eyelashes. In my review, I hadn't quite decided if it had bumped Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara off the the top spot and I can say now that it has.

Cheeks

MAC Springsheen Blush

A beautiful corally pink with shimmery gold undertones. It is very similar to the other MAC blush that I have- Fleur Power- but it far more wearable. Both are very pigmented so you definitely need a light hand with it.

Lips

Saving the best till last. I am a big lipstick girl and these are my new loves

MAC Chatterbox Lipstick

Quite a bright pink lipstick but I'm never one to shy away from the brighter colours. I absolutely adore this colour on me and actually find it surprisingly wearable so much so that it has become my go-to lipstick

MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick

The ultimate red lipstick. 

As long as you moisturise your lips before as this is a very dry formula. But if you do that, you're set for the whole day. Absolutely brilliant red lipstick

Rimmel Heartbreaker Lipstick

My all time favourite lipstick and the only lipstick I have completely worn down. It can be worn both day and night and is often the shade worn by Zooey Deschanel in the Rimmel adverts. A gorgeous colour.

Topshop Glaze in Antique

A gorgeous muted peachy pink lipgloss. A bit on the sticky side but it's perfect on its own and  to tone down a bright lipstick in the day as it isn't too pigmented

Hair

I use it everyday without fail to keep my hair in check and it has never let me down. It leaves no crispiness in my hair and keeps my hair frizz free. As it is dirt cheap as well, it's pretty student purse friendly 

And there you have it, my top 11 of 2011.

I have a big hair post planned as I'm stuck in hair limbo at the moment, not really sure what to do with it and it got me thinking about curly hair in general so I figured it would be useful to put on here. So keep an eye out for that, if you are interested.

Hope you're having a good day

And what have been some of your top products of 2011? - I'd love to know.

xx