My Daily Skin Care Essentials

Okay at the moment I am so DONE with how clammy and hot it has been. I love the hot weather, but I really don’t love it in the UK. Maybe it’s because work is hot and stuffy and maybe it’s because the UK isn’t prepared for heat? Meh either way, I just want a little bit of rain, if not for my gardens sake over my own!

Today’s blog post is one I’ve always thought about writing, but never have until now because I thought my skin care routine was boring and that no one would ever wish to see it.

This being said, why would it be boring? Especially if it works for my skin type! I feel like recently I’ve hit a jackpot with my skin care and FINALLY found some products that work for me and leave my skin looking great, as well as feeling good too.

Get yourselves a nice cold drink, maybe an ice cream or an ice lolly and prepare for this evenings blog post! Not only has it taken me a whole 6 years to write this post, but I’m spontaneously writing it at nearly 9pm. Oh dear, I hope it’s good reading. 😛

I have 6 main items I use when doing my morning skin care routine, some of them are recent newbies and some are products I’ve used on and off over the years. BUT it is finally so amazing to find products that work with my skin, and don’t cost a fortune to pick up either!

• Australian Bodycare Skin Wash.

This is the first thing I’ll use everyday as a part of my routine and it’s only recently that I’ve started using this on my face. My skin was breaking out constantly and I started to worry I had acne and was feeling ugly constantly. I looked how I did when I was 13 and very much so like a pepperoni pizza! You can use this skin wash all over your body and considering I always use it on my body, using it on my face couldn’t hurt, right? It was amazing to be honest with you and it’s really changed my skin for the better this past month! You don’t need a lot of this either, which is even better considering this is a 1000ml bottle. I need to get some refills for it as soon as I can.

• Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser.

This is the newest product in my skin care routine and it’s one I’m so glad I picked up! I needed a new face cleanser/toner and I usually pick up a tea tree one. They didn’t have that sadly and my mom has always raved about this cleanser, so I thought I’d give it a go. If I didn’t like it, I could always give it to my mom and pick up a different one. This is amazing to be honest with you and I feel like it really does lift up any leftover muck from my pores. Gross, but true! 😛 This is also really refreshing to use whilst the weather is hot.

• Simple Kind To Eyes Soothing Eye Balm.

This is an eye cream/balm I’ve been using for many years now and chopped and changed using it on and off for various reasons. I always go back to it though because it always leaves my eyes feeling cool, moisturised and although not looking “better”, they certainly look somewhat refreshed. This lasts ages too as you only need a little bit and it doesn’t cost a fortune either. My only issue with this is that it doesn’t help with ageing, which I probably need to start thinking about now… 😛

• LOreal Paris Hydra Genius Liquid Care (review here).

This is by far my favourite product alongside the tea tree skin wash in my skin care. This came out last year and it released at such a great time considering it was boiling when it came out. This is now my second bottle and look how much I have left! I’ll buy myself another bottle soon enough to be honest with you as I love using it everyday. As you’ll read from my review, this is a really light formula, which goes a long way and leaves your skin feeling moisturised and cooled down. It’s perfect to take abroad with you (if possible) due to how cooling it is. I especially love using it after a face mask.

• Rimmel London Insta Fix & Matte Translucent Powder.

This is my second one of these now and I love it so much! This is probably the only bit of make up I always use to be honest with you. Due to my combination skin, I get an oily t-zone and due to that I like to matte it down as much as I can, with as little effort as possible. This powder is really light and doesn’t do a heavy coverage at all, but nonetheless for me it does an amazing job!

• Collection Colour Lash Clear Mascara.

Due to having such big eye brows I need a good clear mascara to keep them in shape all day long and this is by far the best and most affordable clear mascara on the high street! I used to use the Miss Sporty one but the staying power wasn’t as good as it could have been. I’ve not really tried any other brands, I don’t need to considering how great the Collection one is! I recommend it if you want to use a clear mascara on both your eyelashes and eyebrows.

So those are my daily skin care essentials and my favourite ones to be honest with you! There are other bits and pieces I like using on and off too, but they don’t get a mention here. 😛

What are your daily skin care essentials? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re excited for the weekend, I know I am. 😛

June Favourites ’17

It is now July and month seven of the year! 2017 is going by so quickly and whilst a part of me is somewhat glad about that, it’s also always creepy when we edge into another month. Soon it’ll be August bank holiday, then holiday and autumn, then Halloween and bonfire night, and then Christmas and New Year. Fuck. Stop time just for a bit. 😛

I loved all my favourites from last month as I discovered some new beauty products and was reminded how good some oldies are too. So I hope you enjoy this months favourites post. ^_^

• Imperial Leather Foamy Banana Hand Wash.

I’ve been eyeing up this hand wash for ages, but never bought it as me and Dane have had LOADS of hand washes to get through. Then towards the end of the month I was able to pick up a couple of these in Poundland. They smell amazing, just like the shower cream and bubble bath. So far since me using it my eczema hasn’t disliked it, so I’m hoping and keeping fingers crossed that I’ll be okay with it! If so I’ll be buying this and using it as our regular hand wash for as long as possible. 😛

• Nivea Blueberry Blush Lip Butter.

I picked this lip butter up randomly when on an alcohol run before going to a friends BBQ. I’d forgotten my tin of Vaseline in the house and I KNEW I would need something for my lips. I’ve mentioned a few times this past week that my lips are still playing up on and off so I need constant moisture to keep my lips soft and from splitting again. This lip butter is amazing! I love blueberry scented things so this smells divine, but it’s also a thick lip butter which actually feels like it’s working. I have it for around the house as well as for in my handbag when I want something thick on my lips. I recommend these though if you’re not a fan of Vaseline and want to try something different.

• L’Oreal Paris Hydra Genius Liquid Care in Normal To Combination.

I recently reviewed this (which you can read here) and I love it so much! June has been a pretty hot month and we had some of the hottest days of the year during the month. This liquid moisturiser was wonderful to use towards the end of the month and really is something that had to feature on here! It’s also helped my skin quite a bit with my oily t-zone. Can’t complain about that at all! 😛

• MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Sangria.

This is a lip stain I bought months ago but hardly used, until recently. I tried blending this with the shade Dewberry to create blended look with my lipstick. Not only did it look great when I applied it but it lasted ages too, which I was really happy with! It’s so comfortable to wear especially in the warm weather. My only issue with it is it smells and tastes disgusting! >.<

• The Body Shop Oils of Life Twin-Ball Facial Massager.

This is a product I bought over a year ago and one I had hardly used until recently. With the warmer weather I thought it would be nice to use this massager on my skin after my serum and moisturiser. This has especially worked well teamed up with hydra genius! Due to the metal balls it feels lovely and cooling on the skin which I love the most about it. I don’t know if I’ve noticed any differences in my skin  by using it yet however. I also use this under my eyes after applying my eye gel to help with my eye bags. The Body Shop have in fact released one specifically for the eye area so I’ll be buying that one very soon!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9.

Oh my God what a season this one has been! It’s definitely been one of my favourites for a long time and that is just purely down to Sasha Velour, who in turn has become my favourite drag queen. At the time of writing this (21st June AKA 2 days before the final!) I am really rooting for her to win this season. She fucking deserves it to be honest. She’s funny, unique, beautiful and not to mention down to earth and not fucking fake. I hate fake queens so damn much!

EDIT: HOLY FUCKING SHIT MY GIRL WON! I am so damn happy that Sasha won season 9! She’s the only queen who wasn’t in the bottom two throughout the competition and I only realised that whilst watching it. That shit she pulled with the rose petals. Fuck yes my lady!!! I have to add that I also loved Peppermint’s performance too and I’m very glad that she came second! I’ve already said that as soon as Sasha Velour announces doing some dates in the UK I WILL be going! 😀

Favourite Film – Split.

After 5 months of saying we would watch it, me and Dane FINALLY watched Split and let me tell you, I loved it. I wanted more from James McAvoy’s character as I loved him so much. He’s also one of my favourite actors and has been since the start of his career when he played Steve in Shameless (the UK one of course, not the shitty American version!). I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this film and how some people loved it and some hated it. I honestly can understand why people didn’t like it, but I felt it worked really well and the twist at the end was pretty awesome. It’s very mental health related and that’s something you find out at the end which is really interesting. It just worked so damn well and McAvoy’s acting was fucking perfect.

Favourite Book – Erm…

I’m not going to lie. I haven;t been reading fuck all this month. I keep meaning to take Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy to work but I always forget. That and I feel like I hardly get any time to even read a decent amount. I have ordered some manga recently so I’m sure I’ll be reading that soon. ^_^

Favourite Song – Persona 5 OST – Behind The Mask (Instrumental).

I feel like I do nothing but talk about this game and erm why the fuck shouldn’t I? IT’S AMAZING! I am legit spending my day off tomorrow by playing this and doing housework. That is so sad. 😛 ANYWAY! The soundtrack from this game is an actual God send for me and I’m fully addicted to it. I need to download it as I want it to listen to whilst on holiday. I’ve found in the past that it’s really good to listen to whilst doing blog work as it’s really interesting. If you love jazz music, you’ll love this album. There is also a version of the song with lyrics/singing but I prefer the instrumental version.

Favourite Game – Pokemon Magikarp Jump.

I so desperately wanted to talk about Persona 5 again, but I can’t possibly. I spoke about it last month. 😛 BUT I have been loving this iPhone game! It’s an official Pokemon game and has been out about a month now. You basically train your Magikarp to jump as high as possible so that it can compete against other Magikarp! It’s kind of addicting and I often play it on my lunch break at work. I know a lot of people who have given it a go and got very bored of it, often deleting it. I love it though! What I find is the best thing about it? You don’t need to be on a wifi nextwork or 3G/4G to play it. WIN WIN!

So those are my favourites from last month. What products were you loving? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and have a lovely weekend.

L’Oreal Paris Hydra Genius Liquid Care – Review

I don’t feel like I’ve written a review for aggggges, which of course sucks! Probably due to lip issues again as my lips appear to not be 100% healed, sadly. BUT I recently bought a product that NEEDS to be reviewed as soon as possible. 😛

I couldn’t remember when this came out in the UK but it feels like AGGGGGGGES ago! From what I could find on their Instagram page it said March 5th 2017 that it was first being spoken about… But I’m unsure if this applies to America, or Europe… I know it’s been  out at least a month because my friend Claire has been using it that long, PLUS I’m sure I eyed it up that long ago in Boots!

ANYWAY I finally decided to pick it up on a trip to Boots and I’ve used it for about a week now and I can safely say I love it and it needed to be reviewed.

First of all I’ll talk about the product itself.

Hydra genius is a liquid care moisturiser which you use on a daily basis in the morning and/or evening. I picked up the normal to combination skin as I have the latter, an oily t-zone and dry cheeks and chin.

I’ll type up what it says on the packaging as it’ll explain the product itself  better than I will. 😛

The Liquid Care; Fresh as water hydrating as a cream. Locks in Moisture for 72hrs. Enriched with Aloe Water & Hyaluronic Acid. Instantly Refreshes. For Normal to Combination Skin. Inspired by Asian skincare, L’Oréal Paris Laboratories introduces THE LIQUID CARE. It delivers pure moisture that penetrates quickly, deeply and continuously – without overloading the skin.

INSTANTLY REFRESHES. Immediately absorbed, the water-like texture rehydrates and reinvigorates the skin.

INSTANTLY LOCKS IN MOISTURE. The forumla penetrates deelpy for a healthy-looking glow.

72HR RECHARGE It releases continuous hydration and drenches the skin with moisture for up to 72 hours.

How to use: Every morning and evening, alone or after your serum, apply one pump to the face and neck. Massage in circular motions for better absorption. Use instead of your daily moisturiser.

You get 70ml of product in the tube and I’ve found a little bit goes a long way! I’ve seen people on Instagram using three pumps but I’ve found one to two is enough for me! Three is a bit overkill I find.

I’ve been applying this when the weather has been really warm in the mornings before work and in the evenings after using a face mask, both sheet and clay. I’ve found it’s given my skin a real treat more so in the evenings as part of my pampering routine, which feels lovely!

This doesn’t have a heavy scent to it which is great but it smells so refreshing and that alone I am in love with! It smells of aloe vera of course due to the aloe water ingredient. I can’t stop smelling the back of my hand after taking the pictures for this post. 😛 It reminds me of holidays in Fuerteventura.

As we all know in the UK it’s been REALLY HOT this past fortnight so our skin has been in need for cooling down, especially the face for myself. Alongside the hydra genius I’ve been using my twin-ball facial massager from The Body Shop loads lately and it works so damn good with hydra genius! The metal balls feel cooling on the skin and that mixed with the cooling sensation this moisturiser leaves too it just feels amazing. I highly recommend that facial massager, I’ll leave a link to it here.

I did notice a change in my skin after a week though to be honest. Not in the sense of moisturisation but in the sense of how it has helped with my oily t-zone. I’ve found that it doesn’t look as shiny and like I’ve dipped that entire section near a fat fryer. To be honest my t-zone isn’t bad, I mean it could be worse but when it’s warm it’s just not as good as it could be. You know? xD

I know it sounds really daft but even the packaging itself pleases me and reminds me of a Korean beauty product, which is what inspired L’Oreal to create this in the first place. I just love how to it a gorgeous and summery turquoise colour and it kind of reflects the ingredient aloe vera really. Well I think so anyway. 😛

Hydra genius does remind me of something from years before that I used to use, but to honest I prefer the hydra genius, which I’ll explain. The product I’m talking about is another product by The Body Shop, it’s the Vitamin E Aqua Boots Sorbet. It costs £14.00 for a 100ml jar and a little bit of it goes a long way. It’s definitely like a sorbet but is of a gel and lightweight consistency. This being said it’s thicker than hydra genius and does feel like you need to put a little bit more work in to make it sink into the skin. I wouldn’t fault it though, it’s a great product to use if you need to feel cooled down. I reviewed it when it first came out back in 2014, which you can read here.

This is the perfect product to use during the summer when the weather is hot and also an awesome product to take away to hot climates for holidays. I know I’ll be picking one up for when I go to Fuerteventura, but this being said they probably already have it for sale over there.

So what are my overall thoughts about this product? It’s pretty damn amazing to be perfectly honest with you! I didn’t actually think it would be as great as it is, but it’s wonderful. It might be a light weight moisturiser but it really does do what it states it will, all whilst being cooling and comfortable on the skin.

Although I would use this in the colder months, it’s been invented for summer really and it will definitely work best when there’s a heatwave.

Although I picked this up in normal to combination skin, you can also get it in normal to dry skin and sensitive skin. I was stuck for choice on which one to pick up, but I’m glad I went for the one I did now as it really has helped my combination skin!

Although this is usually £9.99, Boots have an offer on where you can pick it up for £6.66. I had a look to check the prices in Superdrug but it doesn’t look as if they stock it, which is a surprise!

I would say if you like the look of it, pick it up ASAP as I’m sure that discounted offer won’t last forever, sadly. I’m going to pick up a couple more bottles when I get paid next. I hope the offer is still on then.

Will you be picking up hydra genius? If so which version will you get? Do you already own it? If so what do you think? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you all have a lovely weekend.