Kiss Me Quick

Helloooo!

 So now that I'm getting well and truly stuck into my Au Naturel challenge I've been picking up a few unusual tricks that have been helping me keep my lips in tip top condition. As they're my main feature to really play around with now that eyeshadow and eyeliner (to see how far my craving for that has gone, just check out the new Image of The Month) are off the menu I've been paying extra attention to them.






 A product that gets a lot of praise are Lush lip scrubs and whilst I do actually own one in Bubblegum, I'm not a very big fan. I would much prefer to make my own, super sweet lip scrub. It's as simple as honey - or golden syrup if you're like me and don't like honey - water and sugar. Make sure you work in small amounts. It's always easier to add than take away. I would suggest melting your water and honey or syrup together as they will mix better when hot and runny. Let them cool and add your sugar to form a grainy paste perfect for any sweet tooth. Scrub away.

Another thing I've been thinking about is multi purpose products. It sounds crazy, so bear with me, but the other day I had a realisation. The skin on your lips is a much thinner version of that under your eyes. So surely if under eye serums work to firm up your under eye area, should they not do the same to your lips? I've spent the last few days testing this with my Soap&Glory You Won't Believe Your Eyes under eye roll on and it's startling the difference it makes.  Fuller, firmer lips? Job done.

Last but not least in the cold, snowy, weather I've been finding that my lip balms just aren't enough. I need the real deal. So I've been doubling up my Re-gen repairing moisturiser, as an intensive lip treatment as it sinks in quickly and repairs my poor chapped lips in no time.

All of the above have really been helping me out with my Spending Ban, which is going rather fabulously, so far my tactic is to avoid temptation. I'll be doing a one month update and wish list on that so prepare for a long one!

To keep updated with my various challenges feel free to hop over to my Contact page to find out how to follow my everyday beauty updates.


If you've missed any of my latest posts: 

I ❤ Drugstore Makeup Tag

Au Naturel - One Week Down

From Comfort Food to Comfort Face

Au Naturel: Is it possible?

I begin this post even now with trepidation. I had a little bit of a meltdown the other day and took a vow of 'healthiness'. Read the rant: Boom! So I figured whilst I'm on my little health kick I might try a huge, shock tactics, overhaul on my current life style and revisit a few of my failed past challenges.
The first, is the Spending Ban challenge which I failed after less than a month but this time I am determined. So here are the rules that I set for myself last time:

• Whilst I will be cutting down on unnecessary spending on eating out etc this ban is mostly on beauty products. So that's makeup, clothes, accessories, perfume, skin care and body care (other than essentials). 
• Having said that I will not be buying books, CD's, DVD's or magazines or the like. 
• As stated above, I'm not going to stop all spending because I'm a student and there often isn't another choice but to eat out. However I will be sticking to plans that I have made with friends already. Cuts on leisure activity's will be enforced after these pre-arrange events have taken place. 
• This challenge will last one hundred days.
• The ban will exclude any birthdays in the next few months. Because why should my friends suffer! 
• Obviously college supplies etc. Class books, educational trips and such will have to be payed for.

I will do my best, but no promises lol. This blog has always had a fairly random post set up, but I may have to begin posting wish lists!

So the other challenge I've also failed in the past is the no heat hair challenge. I have a plan and I will get this one done. My general time frame on this is generally just as long as I can last. I will keep you updated!

Last but not least. The bare, naked face. This does not mean I'm going to stop wearing mascara but basically if it goes on my skin, then it's out. So powder, foundation, concealer, blusher. Not touching me.



So I'll see you with my apology failure post in about, two days?

Tah Tah! 

Face Base - I just woke up this perfect.

 

I was so happy to have this post requested that I decided to do it as a little two parter, because I feel that there are two sides to getting this right. So I’ve been asked to do a bit of ‘how to’ on getting natural blusher, bronzer and foundation. I thought I’d throw a little bit of highlighting in there too and do a big post about the face. As far as I’m concerned with the flawless base you’re pretty much good to go. The second part of this little segment will be uploaded on Saturday... hopefully. It's what I'm going to call English Rose. This look is all base. No filled in eyebrows or smoky black eyes. This is the skin you have, just at its very best. 

Is Liz Earle getting a run for her money?

Look familiar?

For Christmas this year I begged and begged for the Soap & Glory FabPore Hot Cloth Cleanser. The reason I set my sight on this is because it came as part of a Christmas set from Soap & Glory along with Bright Here Bright Now, their illuminating moisturiser that has become a huge favourite of mine over the last few weeks.

No we all know about the infamous Cleanse & Polish from Liz Earle but I want to have a little talk about whether she might be getting a little run for her money. Be prepared for ingredient comparisons, value for money, product size, actual usage results and a general ramble on the other hot cloth cleansers out there.


Soap & Glory FabPore.

• FabPore comes in a 4.6 stars average rating on the Soap & Glory website. 
• RRP of £10 makes this an affordable little addition to your skincare routine. 
• A little goes a very long way, which is good at 100ml per tube.
• Packaging is very pretty but of average quality. 
• Cloth included. 
• Ingredients: (The Good Stuff) Panthenol, Natural Sweet Almond, Orange and Lavender essential oils.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.

• List as long as my arm in beauty awards. 
• RRP of £14.25 for 100ml.
• A pump! That may sound like a sill advantage but it just makes life easier.
• Solid packaging but no different to your average plastic can.
• Cloth is very good quality. 
• Ingredients: (The Good Stuff) Beeswax, Eucalyptus, Glycerin, Hops Extract, D-Panthenol, Cocoa Butter, Rosemary Oil, Chamomile.

(Ignore the following white box, apparently Blogger and Microsoft Word aren't compatible. Who knew!)

For me Liz Earle is a bit of a miracle but there’s always a little bit of a Earle bandwagon to be jumped on. Now I’m alright with a leap of faith but let’s face it, we’re talking about whether £4.25 extra is worth it.  Value for money is always important to me but what is £4.25. It’s a meal deal at boots, or perhaps it’s a new pair of earrings (if you’re savvy enough) I even bought a Mango t-shirt for £4.75  the other day so there’s a lot you can do with 50p and that extra difference.

So it really does, for me, come down to product quality and I’ll admit I’m torn. On the one hand I can spare the extra £5 for a really good quality cleanser  and at the same time I can’t help but think I can put up with a product that does a very good job, maybe doesn’t quite measure up but does save more money in the long run.

So there you have it, a little competition. If Liz Earle is a 10 then Soap and Glory’s a definite 9.

So what do you think? Who’s closing in on the finish line for best cleanser?

Some more hot cloth cleansers hitting the market:

-          Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser (125ml)

-          Sarah Chapman Skinesis Ultimate Cleanse (100ml)

-          This Works Clean Skin Gentle Cleanser (120ml)

 

My apologies!

Hello Beauty Addicts!

Well that feels weird; no 'Happy Holidays' or 'Merry Christmas.' Yes, it's finally happened, the new year has hit and my first post of the year is going to be a big apology. I am aware that I am a part timer. It's a fact. I have a lot of new commitments that are just eating up time but there is another reason of the more technical nature that explains why I haven't posted since... wait for it... the 20th of December! LAST YEAR! As far as I'm concerned, that's appalling. So here's the deal. Google mail for some reason suddenly decided that oh, my email address doesn't exist and let's face it, how can you sign into a blogger account with an email address that doesn't exist, oh, yes, you can't. A little bit of a pickle. So here's a quick one to say that yes, I have a lot of catching up to do. (Thanks computer, the internet is supposed to be revolutionary.) In the meantime, a quick beauty tip to keep you going and let you know I'm not dead?

     Vasaline acts as a protectant barrier between your lips and the world. It's moisturising properties are actually about nil to meh. Try using a moisturising lip balm (Hint hint: Burts Bees are superb!) and applying Vasiline over the top to lock that moisture in.

Tah Tah!

Party Pins

Merry Christmas!

Tis the party season and although shaving (whisper it) is often a bit of a taboo subject we've all looked at that dress that's more air than material and thought 'That's beautiful, I wish I had the legs to pull it off." Well the truth is, you do. A good close shave can turn those everyday things you walk around on to your best accessory and below I'm going to share a few tips on how to get perfect party pins.


1: Good Skin.

If you have a good skin care routine for your face, you're makeup is always going to wear better. Well it's the same for your legs. Good, healthy skin is always a good starting point. No, you don't need to start face masking your legs but there are a few things that you can use long term to keep those legs in ship shape condition. The first is moisturiser. Moisturising regularly improved skin by preventing flaking skin, especially around the knees and ankles that can become quite awkward, and often painful when you start taking a razor over it. Make those skin cells last longer and treat them to a body butter. It's a bit of a cliche but if you like results with a good scent to keep you fresh all day then Bodyshop have nailed it.  The next is toning. So you may not have cellulite just yet, but it's okay to take preventative actions, especially if you're lucky and are sporting a Marilyn Munroe figure. (Most just an excuse to insert a picture of the beautiful lady in question.) There are a lot of firming creams and gels out there but Nip + Fab's Cellulite Fix does exactly what it says on the tin. Apparently.

2: The Razor.

A quick tip is to take your time, don't just pick up the ones being thrust in your face by that sales woman who says, 'This is what I use' when you just know she probably doesn't and it's the most expensive blade on the shelf. Below are three examples. I prefer a mid priced razor. Cheap razors like example 1 rust easily, and usually have a single or double, poor quality blade that cuts you to ribbons. Expensive razors, the Venus Breeze (Example 3) springs to mind, are so overloaded with shave gel bars and other oddities that we don't really need prevent the blades from even getting near the skin. They claim that it's a comfortable shave, and that it may be, but you're still be left with stubble later. Example 2 however won't cost the earth but has the lovely handle, like a Venus, but with three blades that will actually do the job.

3: Scrub.

Skin cells are renewing all the time and it's likely that there are always dead skin cells just waiting to flake off. Gross, I know. However a body scrub, and this doesn't have to be anything special - although I am loving the Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator - will leave your skin smooth and prepare for that ultra close shave. Here's the science. Imagine your skin as many layers with hair follicles buried deep below the layers. You shave away any hair above the top layer of skin, but then when you exfoliate and remove that top layer, there's just going to be a layer of stubble left. Moral of the story, always exfoliate your skin before you shave.

4: Tan.
The colour of our skin can often vary over our entire body. Our legs can often differ from our arms, or our neck and if you've found that having your legs covered during the winter months has led to a bit of a pale hue that doesn't quite match up, then you may be reaching for the fake tan bottle. However, an easier way to give legs a non-streaky radiance boost in gradually tanning lotions. These can be found in many different brands with varying degrees of sparkle to give legs that Jennifer Lopez glow, especially under party lights. However, if you are going for an all over fake take then don't forget to moisturise! Without moisturiser your skin will produce excess oils, which oxidises with fake tan and help create that not-so-delicious biscuity smell.


And there you go, four simple tips to getting party pins ready for the festive season. By the way, all of the above work much better with a bubble bath along side.

Happy Holidays.