Shaken not stirred

 Dress - River Island

Shoes - ASOS
Bag - Primark

Rather strangely for me I’m enjoying a quiet weekend this week.  I’ve been so busy throughout July that I thought it was about time I did a little bit of chilling and have some well deserved me time.  As I have no fancy outfit to show you this week, I thought I’d share what I wore last weekend when I went cocktail making for a friend’s birthday.  We all had a great time making and sipping cocktails and it’s definitely something I would love to do again.  Me and my friend Joanne were rather naughty and “accidentally” poured a lot more alcohol into our cocktails than the recommended amount so they didn’t taste great but they certainly did the trick.

The dress I’m wearing is a little number from River Island last year.  I swear I’m getting so good at re-using outfits.  It’s so unlike me but my bank balance and my bursting wardrobe both really appreciate and it’s nice to give stuff a second outing.  I must admit I wasn’t a complete angel however as I did buy these shoes for the occasion.  Although they’re a bit “90s white stiletto Essex girl” I don’t really care as I think they’re fab and work really well with my outfit.  I was scared they would be ruined after one night but to my surprise, the heels remained intact and the few grubby marks I picked up along the way simply rubbed away with a wet wipe.  Result!

Rest assured my usual brimming social life will resume next weekend and I will have another outfit post for you all then.  Right now, I’m about to make a cup of tea, sit back and catch up on some blog reading.  Which blogs are you loving right now?  Send me some links to your favourites as I love reading new ones!

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Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil

Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil (£28)

I think I’ve reached the stage in my life where I really need to take skincare seriously.  I’m almost 24 and although I’m still a bit of a ‘Spring chicken’ in the grand scheme of things, I’ve decided prevention is better than cure and so I’m going to give my face a little more TLC.  Gone are the days of removing my make up with a wipe (unless I’m drunk of course and then I can’t promise anything) and I’m waving goodbye to cheap, bog-standard brands.  From now on, I’m going to think twice about every product that graces my face.

To start with I’ve invested in a new cleanser which I’m trying to use both morning and night.  There’s so many different types of cleansers on the market and picking one can be really confusing.  Balms, gels, foaming formulas, liquids, creams, oils; the list is endless.  When looking for a new product I always take recommendations into account and I was hearing a lot of good stuff about the Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil.  I was a little dubious at first because I have combination skin which can be particularly oily on my t-zone and chin but I was so swayed by page after page of glowing reviews for this product that I decided to give it a go.  

I’m so pleased I did.  I love it so much that it’s currently the only cleanser I’m using.  One of the great things about it is that it’s gentle enough to use on the eyes, eliminating the need for another product yet surprisingly working well to remove even the thickest mascaras.  I massage two pumps of it into my dry face to begin then add a little bit of warm water so it becomes a little more fluid and milky.  I rub a clean muslin cloth over my face and watch as my make up begins to melt away.  I don’t ever have to apply a second coat and have noticed that my toner has a much easier job to do as the oil has dissolved almost everything on my face.  My favourite part?  How baby-soft my face feels after using it.  My complexion is glowing but for all of the right reasons.  It’s shine free and there’s no oily residue left behind which was initially a worry of mine.

At £28 this is more than I would usually pay for a cleanser but as it’s my resolution to start dipping my toe into the expensive skincare pond I think it’s a well deserved purchase.  A great addition to my expanding skincare collection!  Do you have any suggestions on what my next buy could be?  I can feel an addiction coming on...

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My Tanning Routine

I haven’t seen any of the glorious sunshine this week as I’ve spent my days sitting in a stuffy office, staring longingly out of the window at the clear blue sky.  Unlike nearly everybody else I know, I’ve not caught myself a tan and I’m having to fake it this weekend so I thought I would share my tanning regime with you.

I like to start by giving my whole body a good old scrub to remove any left over false tan and dry skin.  Exfoliating removes any build up of colour and gets rid of any flakey bits of skin which can make your tan go patchy.  My current favourite exfoliator by far is the Kiko Make Up Milano Detoxifying Elastic Scrub, a gorgeous deep-sea blue product which is entirely different to any salt scrub I’ve ever used.  The consistency really sets it apart as it very creamy and almost gel-like which makes it feel super hydrating.  Most exfoliating scrubs I use don’t stick to my skin very well and half of it ends up down the drain but this really clings to both wet and dry skin.  My skins feels velvety soft and completely renewed after using this.  I’ve just checked Kiko’s website and this scrub is limited edition so I’m definitely adding another tub to my basket now.

Kiko Make Up Milano Detoxifying Elastic Scrub (£12.90)

After exfoliating I like to rub some body lotion into my knees and elbows as these are the driest parts of my body and the tan likes to peskily gather in these areas.  Nobody wants to be a victim of orange elbow syndrome so I make sure I really moisturise these parts and then just skim them with the tanning mitt so they don’t attract too much colour.  A favourite body butter of mine has to be Soap & Glory’s The Righteous Butter.  If you’re a Soap & Glory fan you will definitely have come across this product.  They include one every year in their bumper hamper which every girl and their gran gets for Christmas.  The formula is very rich but sinks into the skin well which is important when you’re applying tan on top.

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter (£10.50)

Moisturising and exfoliating done, it’s time to get down to business and tan up.  If you’ve read my blog for a while you will know I’m a huge fan of the Xen-Tan range.  I reviewed their Luminous Gold Gel previously and now I’m addicted to their Morrocan tan, a similar product but with a darker colour payoff.  The difference in colour between the two really is huge.  When I first massaged the Morrocan tan into my skin I immediately thought “this is far too dark!”.  The gel is very very brown and does look a little scary on the mitt (I use a St Tropez mitt btw - can’t got wrong!).  I went ahead and put it all over my body anyway and I turned the darkest colour I’ve ever been.  I looked a little ridiculous and my boyfriend couldn’t stop laughing but after rinsing it off the next day and watching a river of orangey-brown run down the plughole I began to feel a lot better.  I was left with a deep brown yet natural looking golden town.  I only need one layer of this beauty which saves a lot of time and product and even though it does make a mess of my sheets I don’t mind because the results are worth it.  I think I should also take the opportunity to thank my boyfriend for always being on hand to help me tan my back.  I know a lot of boys who just refuse to help with this so I know I’m one of the lucky ones! 

Xen-Tan Moroccan Tan (£24.99)

After my shower I lather myself in even more body butter to give my skin a glowing dewy look.  I make sure I keep up my moisturising routine during the week as my tan always lasts longer when I do.  If I have any tanning boo-boos I use my St Tropez Tan Build Up Remover Mitt to correct them.  I simply wet my finger, press on the area where I’ve made the mistake and then buff away with this mitt.  It can also be used in the shower to help with exfoliating too.  It’s not a necessity in my routine but it does come in handy for any last minute disasters.

St Tropez Tan Build Up Remover Mitt (£5.99)

And that’s my routine complete!  I go through this process every Friday night so I’m bronzed enough to go out and party on down on a Saturday.  I know it might take quite a bit of time from start to finish compared to a six minute sunbed but I know my wrinkle-free skin will thank me for it in years to come.  Have a great weekend everybody!  If you’re lucky enough to be soaking up the sun outside today then please remember to use suncream with a decent SPF as the lobster look is not good.  Sunderland is typically overcast on my day off so there’s no chance I’ll be catching any sun today but I’m already fake-tanned up so I guess I can’t complain too much.

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GlamGlow SuperMud Mask

 GlamGlow SuperMud Mask (£44.99)

I first heard about the GlamGlow SuperMud mask during my nightly browse of Pinterest’s health and beauty pages.  If you’re a lover of the social network site then I’m sure you too will have seen the image of “the nose”.  Smothered in green face mask and dotted with big black pores, it caught my attention and I was intrigued.  Sounds gross doesn’t it?  But that’s definitely the defining feature of this mask.  It sinks into your pores, making them really visible before deeply cleansing and refining them.  Basically, your blackheads should be scared as this product is their worst nightmare.

A word of warning before I tell you how much I love this and get you completely hooked.  This mask is rather expensive for the amount of product that you get.  For £44.99 you can buy a 30ml pot which would give you around 4 - 5 masks if you apply it to your whole face.  At approximately £10ish per application, it is pricey!  Personally, I try to use it sparingly and only apply the mask to my problem areas such as my chin and cheeks, saving a full face treatment for when my skin really needs a bit of TLC.

Although the GlamGlow SuperMud mask does come with a hefty price tag this is a product that really works.  It might not suit everyone but I can vouch that it certainly works wonders for me.  Because of the hype around it, I really couldn’t wait to try it out and so ripped open the packet, applied a thin layer to my whole face, sat back and waited for my pores to show.  As the mask dries, the colour changes from a muddy dark green to a light pale pastel and I got rather excited as my nose began to look like the Pinterest photograph I’d seen so many times.  To my wonder, I started to see pores on top of pores as every imperfection on my face began to show.  I could see pores that I didn’t even know I had!  How many times am I going to say the word pores?!  I did experience a little bit of tingling and tightness as the mask began to dry but even with my sensitive skin I wasn’t worried as it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

When I washed off the mask I was instantly impressed with the results.  I don’t think I’ve used another product where I saw a difference in my complexion so soon.  Every blackhead was gone and my skin looked fresh and glowing.  There was a little bit of redness but it soon faded and I just took this as a a sign that the mask was doing it’s thang!  I know I’d said initially that this is a pricey product but I don’t think you can put a price on results and if something really works, then I’m happy to pay for it.  I can‘t afford to buy this religiously but it will certainly be going on all future Christmas, birthday and other various wish lists. 

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Dr Bronner’s 18 in 1 Magic Pure Castille Soap

 Dr Bronner’s 18 in 1 Magic Pure Castille Soap (£4)

Any product that boasts 18 different uses is definitely one that I want to put to the test.  Especially when said product is a super-cheap beauty cult favourite with a host of celebrity fans.  Know what it is yet?  No?  I’d like to introduce you to Dr Bronner’s Magic Pure Castille soap: liquid miracle worked and my new life saver.  I know we live in an age which promotes hydrating cleansers, mattifying lotions and priming potions but you can’t beat going back to basics with a bit of soap can you?   

Dr Bronner’s have been making their famous soaps for the last 150 years and are a household name in the US and are making a splash over in Blighty too.  A brand which upholds the same values now as it did when it first started, these guys have found a recipe which works and are sticking to it.  I’ve been using the almond magic soap for weeks now and I can’t stress enough how good it is.  I mostly use it for cleaning my make up brushes as it makes that tedious job a little easier.  I massage the tiniest amount into my brushes and the make up melts away leaving them squeaky clean.  I use it as shower gel, to wash my face, to wash my hair, my dishes, my floors!  It’s a really good cleaning product for anything and everything.  You can apparently use it to brush your teeth too but I don’t think I’m brave enough to try that yet.

I really don’t think there’s anything that this soap cannot do and at only £4 for a 237ml bottle, it really is a steal.  Actually, I’ve just remembered, it doesn’t remove eye make-up and really stings if you do get it in your peepers.  The bottle does warn you of this but I’m not one for reading instructions and learnt the hard way.  I’ve almost finished my bottle so I need to repurchase soon and I can’t wait to try the other soaps which are on offer.  The peppermint and rose scented soaps have caught my attention so I think I give them a go next.  I appreciate soap might be a bit of a boring topic for some but if there’s any one that’s going to get you excited I guarantee it’s this.

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Shine bright like a diamond

 Floral crown - ASOS

Crop top - ASOS

Jeans - TOPSHOP

Wedges - New Look

Belt - Boyfriend’s

Necklace - Primark

Nails - Essie Shake Your $$ Maker

Why does time fly faster in the blogger world than in real life?  It’s been a week and a half since I last posted but it really does feel like an eternity.  My life has been super busy lately  but it’s been full of fun stuff so I’m not complaining.  I’ve felt a little out of the loop with my blogging but I’m baacckk...and have lots of new ideas and posts lined up so I can’t wait to share them all with you.

Today I thought I would do an OOTD post of a little ensemble I wore when I went to see Rihanna in concert a few weeks back.  As far as gigs go it wasn’t the best I’ve been to thanks to a mix of bad organisation, an evidential lack of port-a-loos and Rihanna just generally being a little flakey (albeit still very hot).  Ri Ri clearly influenced my outfit choice this day as I would never ever usually have my midriff out.  I was extremely self conscious at first and even went as far as strategically placing my bag over my stomach whenever I sat down but once I got a few drinks in me I embraced the belly button show and felt fine.

The thing I love the most about this outfit?  It has to be the floral crown!  I’m a hippy chick at heart and loved the splash of colour that this garland brought to my outfit.  I don’t think everyone else loved it as much as me though and I did get a few funny looks on the bus on the way through to the concert.  Face...bovvered?  I accept Sunderland just isn’t ready for the floral crown yet.  I went to The Killers gig at Wembley two days later and felt my headband would have fit in a lot better there.  As I looked around at all of the amazing outfits put together by the girls in London, I wished I’d saved my flowers for Brandon but I guess there’s always next time.

And that’s about it for this post.  Just a quickie to say hi to you all and thanks for sticking with me through my blogging silence.  Look out for some product reviews this week as I’ve been road-testing a load of different stuff and it would be rude to keep it all to myself.  I’m also heading out for a friend’s birthday at the weekend and have a gorgeous new dress that I can’t wait to wear so I’ll make sure I get some snaps of that too!  Ciao for now!

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