♥ CLARINS Extra Firming Body Cream

CLARINS Extra Firming Body Cream Review/Overview

Described on Clarin's website as "A rich, velvety cream to pamper the body. A formula rich in eight regenerating and firming plant extracts which help restore the skin's youthful density and elasticity. Moisturising and nourishing, this comforting body cream instantly smoothes away lines, leaving skin soft, satin-smooth and supple."

This cream is meant so smooth and firm your skin by using six active ingredients. They describe this on the Clarin's website as:

"- Lemon thyme extract: protects elastic fibres for more supple skin.
- Extracts of bocoa, centella asiatica and lemon thyme: encourage the synthesis of collagen fibres for increased skin resistance.
- Shea butter and jojoba oil: moisturise and nourish the skin."

When I took these pictures I didn't have the box it came in and there is no ingredient list on the jar itself. I also could not find it online, the closest I got to finding it, was finding the Clarins Extra Firming Body Lotion, which I am assuming is a lighter version of the butter. Find that here. So looking at that list, I will do the usual ingredient check.

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (√)
• Parabens (/)
• Butylene/Propylene Glycol (√)

I used this last time I was in Sweden for three weeks but I didn't use it long enough to say if it actually made my skin more firm. But it is a fairly thick and nourishing butter (think body shop butters) and one of the top ingredients is Shea Butter so it will definitely keep your skin feeling nice.

Has anyone tried this?

xx

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♥ Colourful and Smokey Defined Crease NYE Look

Colourful and Smokey NYE Look

Here comes another NYE look for you! I did my first one a few days ago and it seemed very appreciated, see it here. That one was very a very basic smokey eye working with only 2-3 eyeshadows so for this look I wanted a bit more going on.

Base:

• Maybelline 24hr foundation
• Laura Mercier Concealer

Eyes:

• MUA Eyeshadow Primer
• INGLOT Turquoise Eyeshadow all over lid as base
• Sleek "Blue Spruce" over the INGLOT shade
• A harsh line of Inika organic black eyeliner on crease, or slightly above crease
• Sleek "Starry night" black eyeshadow above crease
• INGLOT beige shade below eyebrow and as transitioning shade
• Sleek purple shade "festive" lightly swept along the outer sides of the black crease shadow
• MUA single purple/blue eyeshadow shade 9 "pearl" on lower lash line
• Inika organic eyeliner under eye, on waterline & tight line 
• Company Liquid Eyeliner
• On top of Company black eyeliner I used NYC purple glitter eyeliner

Face:

• Dark bronzer for contouring, from my ELF palette
• Highlighting bronzer, from ELF palette

On my lips I am wearing my all time favourite Sleek Pout Paint in the shade Mauve Over.

< | With Flash || Without Flash | >

What do you think of this NYE look?

xx

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♥ 8 Months Post Natural!!

My hair favourites and staples

Today I am officially 8 months post relaxer, this is probably the longest I've gone since I was a child and I can't wait to see more of my natural hair texture. What would have been appropriate would have been a curly length check, showing my new growth, but since I did that quite recently (see here) I will share my natural/transitioning hair staples instead.

1. The Conditioner

My staple conditioner is the Tresemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner. It is silicone, paraben and mineral oil free and has amaaazing slip. That means that it makes detangling super easy which is essential when dealing with thick afro hair. See review on this here.

2. The Cleansing Cream

A creamy sulfate free shampoo- Curls Cleansing Cream. As with every product from Curls it smells amazing of caramel/vanilla. It makes your hair clean without stripping it, and also strengthens and smooths as it contains silk amino acids. See here.

3. The Clarifying Silicone Free Shampoo

Even though I don't wash weekly with a sulfate shampoo- I always need to have one in case I've for some reason used a product containing silicones, or if I just feel like clarifying my hair. This one from V05 has an amazing ingredient list with oils like Argan Oil in it, and is not very drying for a sulfate shampoo. See it here.

4. The Sulfate Free Shampoo

Loreal EverSleek Smoothing hair system, A great bargain Sulfate free shampoo. Ingredients are not natural, nor great but it doesn't contain sulfates and the consistency is not creamy- more like the consistency of a normal conditioner. This is affordable and readily available. See it here.

5. The Butter

You can either use a butter or oil to seal your hair, during the winter when it's really humid and cold, I like spreading some Shea Butter in my hair after moisturising. I also use it when I slick my hair in a bun. This one is from Amina and is extremely soft, see review here.

6. The Oil

Castor oil- The oil to use for scalp/hot oil treatments. Before every wash I apply this, mixed with any other oil and apply to my scalp to aid growth and strengthen hair and edges.

7. The Scalp Oil

As most of you probably know Coconut Oil is one of the few (Jojoba oil being the other) oils that actually moisturise hair on its own, and get's easily absorbed by scalp. To prevent an itchy or flaky scalp I massage this into my scalp a few times per week.

8. The Detangler/Moisturiser

Jamaican Lime & Mango No More Relaxer Cream, this is great for detangling my new curly growth. The second ingredient is Shea Butter and it contains loads of fruit extracts such as Kiwi, oh and it smells lovely (mango/peach scent)! It is very thick and could leave some residue if used too often. For only £3.99 it's a bargain and definitely my staple detangler. Despite the majority of this brand's product containing tons of mineral oil, this one contains no mineral oil, petroleum or silicones. See it here.

9. The Leave-in Conditioner

Curls Whipped Moisturiser. I've definitely got a love/hate relationship to this one, only because it's so damn expensive and when I use it, I use it daily and it's finished within weeks. I pay £9.99 for this one. Again, this smells of vanilla and carmel and contains organic and loads of natural ingredients. None of their products contain mineral oil, silicones or parabens. See it here.

Do you have any staple hair products? Which ones and why do you like them so much?

xx

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♥ Santa's Sack Bubble Bar from Lush

Santa's Sack Bubble Bar from Lush

I got this bubble bath bar from the bbloggersxmas event, and yesterday I decided to try it. I don't usually do bubble baths because I feel like normal bubble bath soaps are just really harsh. As you can see, this is a solid Bubble Bar which means you have to break a piece of and crumble it under the tap- also, it doesn't contain any preservatives.

Described on LUSH's website: "We’ve all been good enough to deserve a festive bath of softening bubbles with the scent of fizzy drinks. With tonka, neroli and tagetes this bubble bar is kind to the skin and a gift to the nose."

I have mixed feelings about Lush, I feel like they wan't to come across as a natural brand, or that people confuse "hand made" with natural. So I wasn't surprised to see that this contains sulfates. However I have to say this really did not feel like the usual bubble bath- it felt pretty moisturising. From using it I could really feel that it contained at least one oil because the water felt really nice and non drying while using this.

Overall I think this is a great alternative to your usual foam baths since it contains no preservatives and contains a few nourishing oils. £4.15 is a bit steep considering they are saying that this is enough for only 3 uses. Not sure why three exactly as you can obviously choose how much to put in your bath, and it will still foam up even though you don't use a lot.


Ingredient check (see all ingredients here):

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (/)
• Sulfates (√)

Has anyone tried these?

xx

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♥ NYE Easy-To-Do Smokey Eye Tutorial

NYE Easy-To-Do Smokey Eye

With New Years coming up I decide to share this super easy to do New Years make up. All you need is two (or three) different eyeshadows. Preferably sparkly ones like MUA Glitterbomb or Sleek Sparkle 2, to suit the occasion.

How to do this?

• Apply a dark shade (I used Sleek Sparkle 2 Glitz and Glamour which is a soft black/dark grey shade) all over your lid.
• Using a blending brush (I use N7 Blending brush), blend the edges until they look soft.
• Using Real Techniques shading brush (a smaller, dense eyeshadow brush), apply the dark blue shimmery shadow on to your crease, going all the way to the inner corner of your eye.
• Using N7 blending brush, blend the edges of the blue shadow.
• For more definition, add a pitch black eyeshadow into the outer corner/V of your eye (it shows more in the picture below). Blend it out slightly.
• To clean up: Add a transitioning colour (one of your skin tone) above the crease colour and all the way up to your eyebrow. Apply concealer under your eyes and tidy up any fall out.
• Add a highlighter under yours eyebrows and fill them in.

What did I use?

• Sleek Sparkle 2 palette shade Glitz and Glamour (the black/grey one), Sleek Twinkle (dark blue) and Sleek Tinsel (silver) in my tear duct. 
• The dark black in the outer corner of my eye is from MUA Glitterbomb.
• Nude transitioning shadow, from my ELF palette.
• Company Magazine liquid eyeliner
• Loreal Telescopic Mascara
• Collection 2000 concealer

Will you be trying something similar?

If not, what look will you be going for on NYE?

xx

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Update, I have since made a youtube tutorial of this look:

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♥ Transitioning Diaries Pt.7- Straightened hair style

How to straighten transitioning hair

I thought it was time for a hair care post, for you naturals & fellow transitioners :) The other two times during my transitioning that I straightened my hair, it was really random and out of the blue- and I didn't even blow dry my hair before. I just straightened it as it was. This time I took the time to properly prepare my hair to get straightened by deep conditioning and blow drying.

Since the last time I straightened (see here), I've cut about half an inch or an inch of damaged ends. I don't have a set day or anything when I trim my hair, I just do it when I see ridiculously damaged ends- not a nice look!

See how to make the deep conditioner below yourself by clicking here!

Any transitioning/natural hair tips :) 

Or product recommendations me?

xx

Transitioning Diaries Pt.1 (my story and curly, natural hair pics)

Transitioning Diaries Pt.2 (DIY protein treatment and trimming ends)

Transitioning Diaries Pt.3 (1st Length check with straightened hair)

Straightened hair FOTD (the fotd from the first pic in this post)

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♥ Yummy! Bodyshop Watermelon Body Lotion

Bodyshop Watermelon Body Lotion

Buy it from here, it is still £2 on sale online :)

This smell so yummy. That is the only way to describe it, and also the most important thing about this lotion. I bought this in This BodyShop haul on sale and it is a perfect everyday lotion. I usually shower in the morning and when I do so, I just use a shower oil. But for me it's perfect for the days I can't shower in the morning, it's fairly light and smells amazing. As with any body lotion it's not rich at all and won't keep you moisturised for that long. It's more of a freshen your skin up product to me!

Ingredients?

They are quite good as with most of Bodyshop's products these days. It contains both Shea Butter and a few nourishing oils.

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (√)
• Parabens (/)
• Butylene/Propylene Glycol (√)

Have you tried this or seen it? 

I actually hadn't seen this product until I saw it on sale.

xx

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♥ DIY: Lavender Beeswax Salve

DIY: Lavender Beeswax Salve

Check out my other natural DIYs here, to learn how to make your own lip balm, lipstick, whipped Shea Butter, deep conditioner, body scrubs, face masks, facial oils or nail oils.

Another DIY for you guys. This one is a Beeswax Salve with a Lavender scent. You can of course change it to any scent that you prefer, such as Peppermint, Sweet Orange, Rose or Tea Tree Oil. A Salve means a mix of an oil, and a wax.You could say that it is a natural version of Vaseline and also has a similar consistency. Use it on any dry parts like cuticles, knees, elbows, feet or scalp.

What you need..

• Beeswax
• A carrier oil
• A microwave or a stove using a double boiler
• A cosmetic container (You can get my one from Neal's Yard Remedies here)
• A bowl to melt the ingredients in

..Alternatively:

• Shea Butter/Coca Butter
• An essential oil for scent

How to mix it?

So I will write to you the way I personally make it. I have not read any recipes so do not quote me on this, it is all about mixing it until you get it the way you like it. FIY, the hardness of Beeswax on a scale from 1-10 would be a 10, whereas Shea Butter is a 6-7 and Cocoa Butter a 9-10. So for the most simple recipe of an oil and Beeswax, you use a ratio of 1:3 to get a solid, but soft salve. Keep this in mind when you are creating your salve.

1. Fill up the cosmetic container that you will be using according to the guide lines I've written above, i.e for a simple salve of only beeswax and oil, fill a fourth of your container with Beeswax and the rest with oil. If you wan't to add Shea Butter to the mix, the way I would do it is to in your head, divide the container in two parts. For the first half of your container, fill 1/4 with Beeswax and 3/4 with oil. For your second half, since Shea Butter is softer than Beeswax, add 1/3 of Shea Butter and 2/3 oil. This is just the way I do it since I just do it by heart, and I don't measure or follow a recipe.

2. Pour the mix of wax, oil and Shea butter into a bowl. Heat it in the microwave but take it out now and then to stir. Once the whole mix has no bits or chunks in it and just looks like a melted oil, take it out.

3. Pour the mix into your cosmetic container again. Now add your essential oils and/or Vitamin E oil (natural preservative). Leave to harden over night or put in the fridge or freezer if you are impatient.

Done!

Will you try this, 

or have you tried something like this before?

xx

Check out my other natural DIYs here, to learn how to make your own lip balm, lipstick, whipped Shea Butter, deep conditioner, body scrubs, face masks, facial oils or nail oils.

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♥ Xmas/Winter Edition EOTD Favourite?

MERRY XMAS GUYS!! :) Hope everyone will have a great day!

Xmas/Winter Edition EOTD Final. Which one was your favourite?

See all parts here:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 &  6

Let me know which one you prefer and why :)

xx

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♥ DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil Mini Size

New staple guys! I absolutely love this. If you read my last post you would have seen that the full size product was on my Xmas edition beauty wish list. Despite being a beauty blogger I don't usually have strong opinions about different products, I just mainly do reviews based on price and ingredients.

Description from their website: "Water-soluble Deep Cleansing Oil contains a rich blend of skin-loving vitamin E and hydrating olive oil. It helps unclog pores by clearing impurities and make-up, leaving your face a grime-free zone. Rinses away to help leave skin fresh and clean. Olive oil and vitamin E fight free radicals"

So why do I love this so much?

Well I love oils. So when I first saw this I though it will either a) not really contain any oil, but just be labelled as an oil cleanser , or worse, contain mineral oil. b) be like any other oil, which means I can easily make it my self. But hey I was wrong, this has the consistency of olive oil (which it mainly contains of) but when you wash it off, it dissolves like any other wash- which of course would not happen with a normal oil. If you would use a normal oil to do this you would have to clean your face with a face cloth to get the oil off. This will wash off all your makeup.

What are the ingredients like?

One really annoying thing is that the ingredients are not on the mini bottle. However a quick google search brought me to the DHC website where all the ingredients were listed. I love that the first ingredient is in fact Olive Oil which means they can truthfully call this an oil cleanser!

First few ingredients, see all of them here:
olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate

Ingredient check (/)=NO, (√)=YES 

• Mineral Oil (/)
• Silicones (/)
• Parabens (/)
• Sulfates (/)

Have you tried these guys?

xx

(*) From the #bbloggersxmas goodie bag

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♥ Beauty Wishlist Xmas Edition

It's been a while since I posted a wish list on my blog. To be honest it's only down to being lazy and not being bothered to edit and everything.

1. Real Techniques setting brush: Because I love RT brushes. I would love to try this one for contouring. Mentioned here.

2. Curls Coconut Sublime Conditioner: Another favourite brand, their hair products smell amazing and I love them. Mentioned here.

3. Apple Ipad Mini White: I've been meaning to buy an iPad for years, only reason I haven't is because I am too stingy. I recently decided to buy the iPad mini to read books (lol) and blogs, when it came out but it kept being out of stock. I've now decided to buy driving lessons instead, but to buy the iPad when I pass my test! Woo :)

4. DHC- Deep Cleansing Oil: From the bbloggersxmas event goodie bag. We got the small size, and oh my I love this. It is in fact a water soluble oil that cleans off all makeup perfectly. Review to come. See the goodie bag here

5. Murad Pomegranate Exfoliating Face Mask: Another goodie from the bbloggersxmas event (link above). I got two sachets of this product. It turns out there is no full size product but in fact a full pack containing- sachets  Personally I think that is completely stupid since a sachets last for 3-4 uses, and you have to keep one open and try to store it in a way so that it won't spill in the mean time. Okey enough about that- I loove this. I've been wanting to try a face mask that exfoliates by using various acids and fruit extract, which is exactly what this one does. A few people have had a burning feeling from using this, but I had no issues at all.

6. Tiana Organic Fairtrade Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: Since trying "real" coconut oil (cold pressed, and expensive lol!), I am soo hooked. I've been using Coconut oil for ages (a cheap refined one) but this is truly the real deal. It smells heavenly.

What is on your current beauty wishlist?

xx

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♥ Sparkling Snow: Last Xmas/Winter Edition EOTD

Sparkling Snow: Last Xmas/Winter Edition EOTD

So it's the day before Christmas Eve and I thought it'd be the perfect time to share my 7th, and last Christmas/Winter EOTD. This one might not be your typical Christmas/winter shades, but I thought the glitter could go as a sort of sparkly snow look.

What I used for this look:

• Turquoise eyeshadow: INGLOT (see here)
• Pink (it's white but pink on application) eyeshadow: ELF palette (see here)
• Nude coloured eyeshadow: ELF Palette
• Eyeliner: COMPANY Magazine (see here)
• Mascara: Loreal Telescopic
• Eyeliner pencil: Inika (from this goodie bag)
• White eyeliner: NYC (see here)

The glitter I used is from Swedish brand Makeup Store, and it was a gift from my aunty. It's like a perfect match to the pink/white eyeshadow I used! And oh, I used Shea Butter to attach the glitter (lol).

What do you think of my last Xmas EOTD?

xx

See the other parts here:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

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♥ INIKA Natural Eyeshadow

INIKA Natural Eyeshadow

Guess if I was happy to see a full sized organic makeup item in my #bbloggersxmas goodie bag (here)? I hadn't heard of this brand before but I think the packaging and design looks very nice and pretty expensive. From looking at the website, you can get this for £14.50 from here (link).

As you can see in this swatch, it's very pigmented and pretty smooth in texture.

Not the best look, but I was sort of in a hurry when I did this. Just an example of how you can create a quick look using their eyeshadow and their black organic eyeliner (also from the goodie bag). 

To the left is the shadow non-blended and on the right is the same shadow on its own, and blended.

 This is the packaging, I'd say the ingredients are those of the standard "mineral eyeshadow", so nothing really special.

Has anyone tried this?

What's your favourite organic/natural makeup brand?

xx

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♥ Stronger hair, nails & nicer skin?

What Vitamins I Currently Take

I always take some sort of Vitamins, but for years I've been taking multivitamins pretty consistently but experimenting with other vitamins such as nail, skin and hair vitamins. These are the ones I take right now. Some people say vitamins aren't necessary if you eat right but I really believe the counter argument to that which is that all the food we eat these days (healthy or not) has been processed so much that it's most likely Not as beneficial as it would have been back in the days.

Why do I take these vitamins?
*Don't quote me on any of the following info, as this is just what I "know" at the top of my head.

Zinc: My most recent addition. Other than the fact that Zinc and Vitamin C go well together, I recently read that Zinc can help improving your skin. After discovering a few very unwelcome stretch marks on my legs :(, I wen't and bought Zinc straight away. The last reason is that Zinc is said to "neutralise" the side effects of Biotin, such as breakouts.

Biotin: We all probably know by now that Biotin is said to aid hair and nail growth. I am not sure if it does but I am sure that it is definitely helping in some way. Side effects for some are breakouts and head aches. I haven't experiences either.

Vitamin C: To support my immune system as the label says lol. Since moving to London I've had soo many colds. Pretty inevitable when you travel using public transport, but I will try my best to fight of colds!

Multivitamins: Brand being Tesco (UK Supermarket) I am not sure how much they know about Vitamins, and what research has been put in. As far as I know, with multivitamins they usually don't contain 100% of every vitamin and mineral. I am guessing this is to take into consideration how well they work with each other etc. Anyway, this one does contain 100% of everything, but they are cheap so why not.

What Vitamins do you take?

Any tips for fighting off cold/hair growth aids?

xx

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♥ MUA Glitterbomb. Vs Sleek Sparkle 2 Palette

MUA Glitterbomb (£4) & Sleek Sparkle 2 Palette (£8) Comparison

Before I received the Sleek Palette at the #bloggersxmas event, I hadn't even tried Sleek Palettes. There's one reason for that, being the ingredients. Anywho, as soon as I got it I couldn't help but thinking about how it's similar to my only MUA palette. Glitterbomb and Sparkle 2, they are obviously all about glitter & sparkles, both being pretty topical now that the New Years is coming up.

I will compare:

| Packaging & Design | Ingredients | Shades | Performance |

1. Packaging

Even though I completely understand why MUA has designed their palette the way they have, I have to say that the Sleek palette is just a tad more.. sleek! The material is "matte plastic" as opposed to the MUA which is slightly plasticky. Inside of the Sleek one there is a fairly big mirror which might be handy if you are on the go, or travelling. One disadvantage to that is of course that you can't see the shades without opening the palette, like on the MUA one.

So best design? MUA | Sleek √

2. Ingredients

Now what I look for in eyeshadow ingredients are Parabens and Mineral Oil. Both very controversial And unnecessary by any means. Mineral Oil is used because it is extremely cheap, so if it was used in the MUA palette it would be understandable since it is £4- however, it is not. Mineral Oil is in the Sleek palette which is, like I said above, the reason I haven't purchased any Sleek Palettes. They both contain Parabens (said to be toxic, not in the low doses they are used in ONE product, but considering you use up to 20 different products daily, you might be using more than is healthy).

Best ingredients? MUA √ | Sleek

3. Shades

 At first glance, they shades int hese palettes are nothing like each other. But if you look closer (and see pic below), there are some identical shades, and many similar ones. However, I do feel that the shadows in the MUA palette are slightly too random and I definitely could have survived without that white shade, or the blue one. The Sleek Palette on the other hand has some really gorgeous and unique shades like the "Mulled Wine" one (see look using that here) and I think they are better watch with each other.

Best Shades? MUA | Sleek √

4. Performance/Pigmentation?

This one is a tough one, I was definitely positively surprised by the staying power of the Sleek Palette. Even though I haven't used the MUA palette recently, I know that the staying power of that is equally good. However, I must say that when swatching the "identical" shades (see above), the MUA ones are more pigmented and very creamy compared to the Sleek one.

Best performance/pigmentation? MUA √ | Sleek


It's a tie guys! However performance as in staying power and how they look on the eyes- they are both equally good. But the quality of the MUA one (especially for the price) is pretty amazing! :)

Which palette do you prefer?

xx

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♥ My Current Skin Care Regime

My Current Skin Care Regime

 Here comes my first ever Skin Care regime post! I don't always use anything in particular, but at the moment, this is what I use and it works for me.

I like this Body Shop cleansing milk, but it's one of those that you need to use with a muslin cloth or face cloth which is quite annoying. Your makeup won't come off unless you use that, so that is the only negative point (see review here) and haul here. The other cleansing oil is from DHC and I got it from my bbloggersxmas Goodie Bag (see here).. Guys, this is a new favourite! Loove it. Why, I will tell you in the upcoming review.

Not much to say about this step, before I got this I hadn't used a toner in a long while, I wanted to, but I didn't know any affordable ones with decent ingredients. I am very happy with this and it contains Rose Water among other ingredients. See review here.

For night time: A super nourishing Facial Oil. This one I've mixed myself using Argan Oil, Rose Essential oil and Hemp Seed Oil. See how to make this here.

For day time: My super affordable staple from Superdrug with SPF 15. I only recently understood the importance of daily SPF and wen't on a hunt for the perfect affordable daily SPF face cream. See my post on other SPF face creams here. The second one is great brightening daily moisturiser that is meant to even out the skin tone. Review will come soon! This too was from the bbloggersxmas event.

Ps. Since a lot of my FOTD's are using "soft skin effect" on my skin, Here you can see my face without makeup, and without using that camera effect :)

What's your current skin care regime?

xx

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♥ Golden Double Liner: EOTD Xmas/Winter Edition Pt. 6

Golden Double Liner : EOTD Xmas/Winter Edition Pt. 6

This is the second to last Winter/Xmas EOTD. You can see Part 1,2,3,4 & 5 here.

Since I recently received the Sleek Sparkle 2 palette, I decided to use shades from that. 

I really love the double liner look. It's an easy way to make any EOTD stand out a bit. The last similar look I made was using a bright red & yellow shade from my INGLOT palette, you can see that one here.

I think it's the first time I actually managed to get both eyes slightly similar lol. I always get one I right, and the other one messed up.

The shades I used were Chocolate Penny (the golden one) and Glitz and Glamour.

What do you think of this look? 

xx

Ps. Any suggestions for my 7th and last Xmas/Winter EOTD? x

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♥ New in: Real Techniques Travel Essentials Brushes

Real Techniques Travel Essentials Brushes

First Thoughts!

You might or might not know I am a big fan of Real Techniques brushes. I have the eye brushes, the starter set. And those are practically the only brushes I use. Having duplicates or tons of similar brushes, or any make up items- is something I don't do. However, I felt like I needed one more eyeshadow brush, as I have to keep cleaning them, while using them. Foundation is something I rarely use, but I though one good quality brush might be useful!

1. "Multi Task Brush", described as "For effortless application of powder, blush and bronzer".

• First thoughts: I can only compare this to the Real Techniques blush brush (see here) and this is slimmer, and more dense. However, it is not very dense, it's super soft and I'd probably use this for bronzer. 

2. "Essential Foundation Brush", described as "Build flawless custom coverage with liquid foundation or concealer".

• First thoughts: Well, it is pretty small compare to other foundation brushes, and a lot of people say they prefer using it for concealer. Personally I think it looks way too big for concealer. Another thing is that it is pretty thick for being that small. I am yet to try this.

3. "Domed Shadow Brush", described as "Tapered design smoothly shades and defines eyes".

• First thoughts: I haven't tried this, but I would say that it is pretty similar to the "base shadow brush" (see here). This brush will probably be used the most for blending.

See my other posts on Real Techniques brushes here

Does anyone have any of these brushes?

What's your favourite Real Techniques brush?

xx

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♥ Guinot Masque Essentiel Nutrition Confort

Guinot Masque Essentiel Nutrition Confort

This was a face mask given to me in the goodie bag from #bbloggersxmas event (see here). Don't let the picture fool you, it's a super small sample size of 3 ml, so that will be about 1-2 uses. I decided to try it this morning when I had a shower, and first impression was- I really like it!

Of course, I had to do an ingredient check before using it, no mineral oil, and pretty good ingredients. However, when I googled this product and read ingredient lists provided online, it is said to contains Petroleum (even before water.. eerr!), And Mineral Oil. I am guessing, and hoping, that the one I got has an updated ingredient list .

As I said, first impression was.. "wow, love this". It looks sort of clay mask-ish, but it was very easy to apply and spread well. When on, it had a cooling feel which I am sure which was down to the Menthol it contains.

Now to the problem. This-does-not-come-off. Fellow bloggers who got this in the bbloggersxmas goodie bag (see here), please tell me if you was able to wash this off. It was like when you apply a zinc cream or something to your skin, it completely repelled the water- and I was actually not able to wash this off (lol). I ended up using paper tissue to "scrape" it off, only to be left with a white residue on my skin making me look like a corpse. After that, I had to wash twice with a shower gel!

Has any one else tried this? What are your thoughts??

xx

(*)

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