2013: Favourites/Most Used Products

Skincare

Hey guys!

This is the second part of my 2013 favourites, looking at my favourite skincare products. Now I chop and change my skincare quite a lot, I really like trying out new skincare products and so these products are actually those which I have constantly came back to or reached for throughout the year.

I've narrowed it down so that I'm not talking about more than one cleanser etc. even though I normally have about 5 on rotation.

Again I apologise for my terrible quality photos and my awful photography skills. And same as always I'll post the links to the products I have mentioned at the end.

First off is the No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser

Now this is targeted at people who have a normal/dry skin, but I use this because my skin is primarily normal and using a cleanser intended for oily skin dries out the other areas of my face. I only use a tiny amount of this each time and it must melts away all of my makeup and leaves my skin feel clean and refreshed. When working this into the skin, the formulation changes: it begins as a gel cleanser, but once it has warmed to the skin it melts into an oil, and then when you rinse it away it turns into a milk. I love using this at night because my skin feels lovely, soft and moisturised. I do try to avoid using it during the day as the oiliness of it can cause a bit of trouble for my super oily nose.

Next up is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Exfoliant Toning Lotion.

Toner was something that I got out of the habit of using a few years ago. When I was growing up "cleanser, toner, moisturiser" was always drilled into me, but I guess I just got a little lazy. I picked this up randomly about February of last year and I haven't looked back. It's an exfoliating toner so not only does it tighten my pores and remove anything missed by my cleanser, but it gives my face a daily mini exfoliation which leave my skin super soft and clean. This range is great for people who are prone to acne or breakouts and I'm planning on trying out some of the other products including the highly talked about Effaclar Duo treatment, so I'll keep you all posted!

Next is another toner of sorts, the Lush Tea Tree Water Toner Water Spritz.

I'm a massive believer in having a good skincare routine. Every morning I cleanse, double tone, and moisturise; and at night I double cleanse, double tone, moisturise and use a little tea tree oil on any blemishes as well as my lash serum. So this product I use as my second level of toning. It leaves the skin refreshed and glowing and just really prepares my skin for my makeup. I also like to carry this around in my bag during the day so I can spritz a bit on to perk my skin up when I'm beginning to look a bit tired.

So as previously mentioned, my next skin saviour is my tiny little bottle of Tea Tree Oil.

I started using this after seeing Fleur De Force rave about it. Obviously I knew that tea tree oil was great for use on blemishes, but it had never actually occurred to me to use it in a pure form and not like a tea tree wash. I use this at night time and I basically just pat it onto any blemishes I have or anywhere where I can feel one coming on. It just dries them right up and stops them from developing (if I get there in time). This is such a great little product and the tiny 10ml bottle lasts ages too!

This is my favourite face mask: Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask.

Gosh, I didn't realise just how lengthy the name was! At my job my manager refers people looking for a face mask to me, primarily because I'm a little obsessed and I've tried pretty much every one in the store. But this is by far the nicest one I've used. It smells lovely and tingles a little when it's applied to the skin. It makes me skin feel refreshed and super clean after I've used it and my pores are less visible. I love texture of it on the skin, but the only downside is that it gets everywhere when I'm trying to rinse it off. But there's a high possibility that that only happens because I'm super messy.

The last two products I have are not facial skincare products. First is the Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream.

Now I absolutely ADORE Soap and Glory products but the Sugar Crush scent is definitely my favourite. It just smells like cola bottles and limes and happiness and summer and it's just fantastic. I suffer from eczema and although my doctor tells me I shouldn't use heavily fragranced products on my skin, this product has actually worked wonders for it! It's just so thick and creamy and moisturising that it's made a massive difference to the condition of my skin and has really cut down on my flare ups.

 Finally is the Rituals Miracle Balm.

This again has worked wonders for me. As I mentioned I do have eczema but it normally only flares up on my legs, however, over the last year there's been occasions where my hands have been affected too. I actually received this as a gift and I didn't really use it because I'd never had an issue with dry skin on my hands. But I trawled through my drawers to find this once I'd had a flare up and it made such a difference. It is a balm so it's very thick and rich and I find it to be much more effective than a normal hand cream. When my skin gets particularly bad I put a really thick layer on before bed and put a pair of gloves on and the difference by morning is unbelievable. It also smells super good too!

Well that's it for my skincare favourites of 2013! I hope you enjoyed it?

I'm thinking of doing my skincare routine next for day and night, let me know what you think in the comments?

Amy x

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser £9.50: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Beautiful-Skin-Melting-Gel-Cleanser-for-Normal-Dry-Skin-150ml_1245016/

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Exfoliant Toning Lotion £11.00:

http://www.boots.com/en/La-Roche-Posay-Effaclar-Clarifying-Lotion-200ml_865646/

 Lush Tea Tree Water Toner Water Spritz £3.95:

https://www.lush.co.uk/product/404/100g-SMALL-Tea-Tree-Toner-Water

Tea Tree Oil £7.99 for 20ml:

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Alternatives-Antiseptic-Oil-20ml_4889/

Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask £8.99:

http://www.boots.com/en/Superfacialist-Tea-Flower-Pore-Purifying-Clay-Mask-125ml_1273983/

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream £10.50:

http://www.boots.com/en/Soap-Glory-Sugar-Crush-Body-Buttercream_1286667/

Rituals Miracle Balm £10.00:

http://uk.rituals.com/en-gb/balm/miracle-balm-9104.html

2013: Favourite/Most Used Products

Makeup

Hi guys!

So I intended to do this post tomorrow. However, I can't sleep and so I'm doing this at 2.30am. 

Now I had intended to do a combined makeup/skincare favourites of 2013 post, but I just had way too many products and so I decided to split it in two so that the posts weren't too lengthy.

I have mentioned before that I do work for No7 so this is a little disclaimer of sorts just to say that I am in no way promoting some of these products on behalf of the company. I have only included products that I have picked up and used loads throughout the year and that I genuinely really love. If I don't like a No7 product (which does happen, although not all that often) I won't pretend that I do. It's just not the type of person that I am and I won't recommend products that I wouldn't or don't use myself.

Also, I do apologise for the poor photo quality! I took them on my phone which was probably not the best idea, but my camera is at home and I'm currently staying at my flat at uni. So I promise the next time (after my skincare favs post) I'll have nice pretty photos!

Oh and I'll link the products at the bottom :)

And so, without further ado!

First up are three primers/makeup bases that I have switched between on and off throughout the year. I had a real trouble trying to decide which one was my favourite or even my most used this year, so I gave up and I've included them all.

First is the Smashbox Photo Finish More Than a Primer Blemish Control. Whew, that is a mouthful! Now I used the Smashbox original Photo Finish Primer before this and I was really happy with. But, I do get quite bad breakouts and when I seen this I just had to try it out, and I love it! It applies really nicely and makes my skin feel soft and silky. The big bonus with this is that when I'm using it I really do see a difference in the frequency and longevity of my breakouts. A massive thumbs up for this one!

Second is the No7 Airbrush Away Primer. Now this is a product that I never really used when it was launched. It came out in I think 2011 but at the time I was really happy with the primer I was already using. Fast track 3 years and I don't know where I'd be without it. This primer helps put the skin into "soft focus". It's really aimed at people with lines and wrinkles and it really helps to fill them in and make them look less noticeable. But I find it really helps reduce the appearance of my pores. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but the Benefit Porefessional never really agreed with my skin and this product really does.

And the third product is the No7 Beautifully Matte Makeup Base. This is a really old fashioned makeup base but it works wonders for me. My skin is really just normal other than my nose which is super oily and my makeup always wears off there. I bought this about a year and a half ago and I really didn't like it, it made my skin feel tight and I just couldn't get it to work for me. I left it in my drawer and in the summer I picked it up and decided to give it another try and I'm super happy that I did. Now I just pat a tiny amount on my nose after my primer and my makeup just sits beautifully on top of it and stays put, finally!

My HERO product of 2013 is definitely my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation.

I was always happy with the foundation I was using before but I'm definitely a full coverage kind of girl and I was really looking for something a bit more coverage and someone recommended I try this. I went into this completely blind, I'm not a fan of shopping at makeup counters because I like to shop on my own and I feel bad telling the advisors that I don't need any help, so I bought this online and just guessed my shade. But everything turned out great and the shade was a great match for me which just made my day when it arrived. This gives really full coverage with a great semi-matte finish and the lasting power is phenomenal. I've come in from nights out, pretty drunk and super tired, and fallen into bed with a full face still on and woken up with it still there and nothing on the sheets (woooooo!). I just love how my skin looks and feels with this on and it's become a permanent staple in my makeup collection.

The next two products I cannot live without! The Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light and the Sleek Blush in the shade Flamingo.

The contour kit has really changed my face. Before I owned this product I didn't really contour at all and my face ended up looking pretty flat after I'd done my foundation. But since I've started using this my whole face of makeup has looked so much better! The products are really silky and sit well on the skin.

This blush is the most pigmented blush ever. It's so pink and the colour pay off, as you can see in the swatch above, is amazing. I love how it feels on the skin and the fact that the colour is buildable so you can really customise your own level of pinkness. Another great point about this blusher is the fact that it is very blendable and just sits seamlessly on my foundation.

Now the next product is one that only came out a couple of months ago but I found myself constantly reaching for over the festive season. They are the No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define. 

Now I have this in three colours (which was all that was available) but now there's another six shade as of today. Unfortunately the silver one I've featured was a limited edition that was just around for Christmas. And that makes me super sad because I love it so much, especially paired with the black shimmer one for an easy, effortless smokey eye. The great thing about these is their staying power. When applying they're super creamy and blendable. But once on the skin for a few minutes they dry and are essentially unmoveable unless you use an oil based eye makeup remover. They are fantastic for nights out and work great in the awful Scottish weather. The colour pay off for these is amazing, they are super pigmented and really shimmery. A few of the newer shades are matte if you prefer your eye colours without the shimmer, but personally I love shimmery and glittery things!

Next up is a lip crayon.

This is the No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in the shade Delicate Pink. Since it launched in the summer I've worn it most days. It's just got a great balance between colour and gloss. It feels lovely on the lips and it looks really natural. A great thing about this is that throughout the day as the gloss wears off it leaves a slight stain on the lips minimising the need to reapply. I've loved it for everyday wear when I don't want to look too made up. This colour really works well for me, it's a sort of 'my lips but better' shade.

Last but certainly not least, we have my favourite lipstick of all time! No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in the shade Sultry.

It's a really gorgeous dark red shade that looks great against my pale skin. Now the formulation of this is really amazing, when applying it it's really soft and creamy but it dries to a powder/matte finish and stays put all day/night. This is my go to product when I want to look like I've put in a lot more effort that I actually have (using a red lipstick really is the best way to cheat that "I've spent hours to look this good" look).

Well that's it for my makeup favourites of 2013. Now I do realise that there are a lot of No7 products mentioned, but this is because I really do love them and I use them practically everyday :)

I'll post up my favourite/most used skincare of 2013 tomorrow at some point between my uni work. Who said procrastination has to be unproductive?

Let me know in the comments what you think and what else you would like to see?

Amy x

Smashbox More Than a Primer Blemish Control £28.00: 

http://www.smashbox.co.uk/product/6038/26025/Face/Primer/PHOTO-FINISH-MORE-THAN-PRIMER-BLEMISH-CONTROL/New/index.tmpl

No7 Airbrush Away Primer £19.50: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Airbrush-Away-Primer-30ml_1244077/

No7 Beautifully Matte Makeup Base £10.50: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Beautifully-Matte-Make-up-Base-40ml_1273623/

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation £28.50: 

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/643/3894/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/Double-Wear/Stay-in-Place-Makeup-SPF-10/index.tmpl

Sleek Contour Kit £6.49: 

http://www.boots.com/en/Sleek-Face-Contour-Kit_1395740/

Sleek Blush £4.49: 

http://www.boots.com/en/Sleek-Blush_1395726/

No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define £8.00: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Stay-Perfect-Shade-and-Define_1407586/

No7 High Shine Lip Crayon £9.00: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-High-Shine-Lip-Crayon_1310100/

No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick £9.75: 

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Stay-Perfect-Lipstick_1273595/ (shade 9)

I'm Back!

Hey guys!

I started this blog in September last year and fully intended to do loads with it. Unfortunately, I got a bit side tracked with uni work and such and so, what I had planned to do got put at the bottom of an insanely large pile.

Not to worry however, I've got things sorted and organised and now I'm planning on committing much more time and effort to this blog. I study Law at uni, and while that's all well and good, my real interest is beauty so I'm hoping to balance both over the coming semester.

It's also been my birthday while I was away. I'm 20 now and seriously beginning to feel old! My sister told me on my birthday that I was halfway to 40 and I practically had a meltdown. But all is well, I'll just need to get on with it!

I have a few things for the blog planned out and so they should be appearing over the next couple of days. Starting with a run down of my favourite products of 2013 and my skincare routine.

Amy x

Sally Hansen Gem Crush nail varnish review

THEY'RE SO GLITTERY!

I've been meaning to try this range of varnishes for a while but I haven't really gotten around to it. However, even after hyping it up for so long, I am not disappointed!

I was a bit sceptical since in most other glitter nail varnishes I've tried the glitter has been quite sparse and they've not really been much use as anything other than as a top coat. This range changes all that. The glitter is so thick and after two coats my nails look amazing!

The great thing about Sally Hansen nail varnishes is that they're a "7 in 1" they have a base coat, top coat and colour as well as nail treatments built into them which makes them so easy and quick to use - perfect if you're like me and as soon as you start doing your nails you suddenly can't sit still long enough to get finish them and end up cutting corners and they look quite shabby afterwards. I really am impressed by it and will definitely be getting it in the other shades.

http://www.boots.com/en/Sally-Hansen-Gem-Crush-Nail-Polish_1317668/

Available at Boots (£6.99)

Amy x

A bit about me

Hello Lovelies!

I'm Amy! After following beauty blogs etc. for a while now, I decided it was time to get my own thoughts out there. 

I'm 19, from Glasgow and I'm at uni at the moment studying Law.

I work in Boots - a beauty blogger's heaven - on the No7 counter, so you may see that as the most common brand in my daily essentials. I do love to experiment though and when I'm not working I do mix and match with other brands and give things a go.

I'm not really sure how this will go so please be nice!

I'll post some reviews and a few other bits and pieces over the next few days.

Thanks

Amy x