5 Favourites: Face Exfoliators.

Buying exfoliators is one of my favourite past times, I have quite a few (a collection which I am trying to downsize) but these are the ones I reach for often.
You should only really exfoliate once or twice a week. Exfoliators are designed to buff away the dead skin cells, leaving you with lovely, bright, fresh skin but if you're doing it too regularly there's no more dead skin cells to take away so you're just aggravating the skin. Eek! Also, if you are going to use quite an abrasive scrub then I'd suggest using a moisturiser with an SPF afterwards (or the next day, depending on when you use your exfoliator). 

We'll begin with the Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator. This is actually my smaller size version which was kindly sent to me a while back, I do have the full size version which lives in my shower. This is a natural version of an exfoliator, which contains jojoba beads as the exfoliating beads. When you use this, you'll notice that the beads are very round, like little balls as opposed to some of the other exfoliators which are more like sand. If you imagine sand rubbing at your skin its going to be a lot more abrasive than a circular ball, so obviously the Liz Earle is perfect for just a gentle way to remove the dead skin. 

Of course, it lives up to the Liz Earle hype which surrounds the blogging world. The consistency is similar to the cleanse and polish in a way, quite rich and has the same lovely natural smell.
I'd recommend this if you're a fan of the LE products and if you have dry/sensitive skin as it is absolutely lovely and leaves my skin feeling smooth. This is quite a gentle product, so you may not get the really smooth and bright effects that you do with a more abrasive product but it does an excellent job. 

The Sanctuarys Exfoliating Pore Refining is almost the opposite of the LE exfoliator, it is much more abrasive so leaves skin feeling very "new" and cleansed. This is probably best for those with oily skin and clogged pores, as its small exfoliating particles allow the pores to be fully cleansed.
One of my favourite products, it really does give you fresh and bright skin.

Kiehls Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser isn't actually meant to be in this group, but its a nice "daily" product meaning that it's more of a cleanser with fine exfoliating beads thrown in. It contains clay so is perfect for oily skins, and just gently cleanses the skin of impurities. This can be used every day, due to the fact that it's not actually an exfoliator and won't really aggravate the skin after continued use. 

The Sanctuary Warming Micro-Brasion Polish; I have had this for so long! Another one of my favourites due to the self-heating properties. I sometimes demonstrate this on customers at work because its such a lovely feeling. The heat relaxes the pores which means a deeper clean. It contains clay again, which I think is why it's quite thick. I always find it quite a task to spread this out over my face as well as trying to buff it in, but that's what generates the lovely warm sensation.
You're meant to leave this on for a few minutes to let the warmth get into the pores but I can very rarely be bothered. I'll definitely be repurchasing this as I don't own anything similar. 

Finally, The Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream. Another very abrasive scrub, this is more like microdermabrasion if you ask me! A very fine, gritty texture which reveals very soft and clean feeling skin. I have noticed that some prefer quite harsh scrubs and this is definitely one that will really buff the dead skin away. 

Any other scrubs that you recommend? 

Yay for Yayer.

  

A post of my Yayer dress which I bought for going out in London (I think) a few months back but didn't end up wearing it in the end. Now I can't think what I'll wear it to. It's in my blogshop to be sold, but I quite like it here.

I really don't know what to do with myself today, I'm trying to find internships in London but keep getting distracted by other things like tweaking my blog layout! I wish I had an attention span of more than a few minutes.
Yesterday I had the most blog hits I've ever had before, which was good! I love seeing my little blog grow, I remember in January I only had 30 followers. I've expressed my disliking of the #bbloggers tag on Twitter mainly because it seems to always turn into a debate on what you should and shouldn't do in blogging. I think if you yourself would read your blog and you're happy with it, that's what will make you gain readers. I know people say that it doesn't matter how many readers/followers you have, but really, I wouldn't want to be talking to myself forever. If you're happy with where your blog is, the content is original and you love doing it, there shouldn't be rules to follow! I saw some things last night which were just plain crazy; "always take perfect pictures and write thorough reviews" just have fun and do what you think is good!
That's my two cents anyway!

Here are a couple of blogs I think deserve a little mention: Jennie, Dayner, Bee, Lauren.

Kate Loves & Glossybox.

 

 

 

A few pictures from today, I also posted some photos of my glossy box (this is now my third one) I'm really happy with what I've got so far and I think it's a great investment. Last months wasn't great, but it certainly didn't deserve the abuse it got from some bloggers! I saw some abuse going down which was just not acceptable, being a blogger doesn't mean you have the right to completely insult a company (bearing in mind Glossybox was only on their second box at the time) via social media!
Anyway, that aside I was really excited to try my Xen Tan sample as I've heard great things about this product. I applied it the other night, I found it slightly tricky as it doesn't have a guide colour and as its labeled "dark" on the packaging I didn't want to end up orange so I only applied a thin layer but I do look slightly bronzed. Although I just noticed today I completely missed one knee. My bad.
I would have preferred the yellow Ciate polish, and I'm not a fan of the lipgloss shade but overall, some lovely products for only £10 a month! An amazing investment if you ask me.

I'm off work today which is amazing, I usually have so much stuff lined up but I did everything on Friday. It feels weird to just be sitting around but I love it! I've got so many blog posts done. I bought Cosmopolitan magazine today mainly for the free Missguided nail splash (pictured) in Misschevious which is a lovely deep red/pink. I was already wearing another shade of theirs which I was sent a while ago (for post, see here) called Misstaken which is a bright orange so I just put the pink over the top and it's come out quite nicely!
If you haven't already tried these, I suggest you do! One of my favourite nail polish brands at the moment.

Today is going to be spent lying on my bed catching up on 4OD and eating Thai Sweet Chilli sensations with Philadelphia (amazing btw). I'm also looking up flights and hotels for a little trip to New York I'm planning with the boyf in January (my birthday is in December but we'll probably delay our trip) Any suggestions on hotels/where to go?

Current Favourite Hair Products.

I've mentioned before that I don't really do a lot to my hair, it's usually quite messy. I never even used to use conditioner! It's quite fine and soft but thick, if that makes sense. I wash it every day and then blow dry it and use straightening irons (though not on all of it). Bad.
Recently, I've rediscovered my John Frieda Frizz Eaze Serum which is an absolute miracle product. I've had this bottle for years, since it first came out I guess. Anyway, I've only recently started using it properly and my hair really loves it. Blow drying my hair makes it quite frizzy so this keeps it in place and makes it so soft, oh so soft.

I was given this L'Oreal Professional product Pli recently to give a bit of texture to my hair. My hair goes flat quite quickly after backcombing and styling so since I've introduced this it makes it easier to style (because its so soft and fine). I spray it through towel dried hair and then use my hairdryer to activate. It really does give it a nice thick texture without being crispy. I'd love to try more products from this range! 

I recently bought the new VO5 Give me Texture powder, I've used the Osis one for years but its quite expensive and I didn't like how yuck it made my hair. This variation is great, I find that it doesn't make my hair as sticky and horrible as the Osis and it's so much cheaper. I'd definitely recommend this! I just apply it to my roots, you only need a small bit or it looks a bit grey in dark hair. Then massage in and you have big hair. Done. 

You will recognise this Caviar Anti-Ageing Hair spray from the first ever Glossybox! I absolutely love this product, if a perfume came out with this scent I would absolutely buy it. I broke the bottom by dropping it so it has tape around it. I don't use it all time, but its nice to give a lovely gloss to your hair as well as apparently protecting it from age. Yay for caviar.

Lastly, a product that I've been using for years and another one from John Frieda. Its the Blow Dry Lotion which is applied to the roots of damp hair before blowdrying to give texture and volume. Another one I really recommend, I've repurchased this once I think as it lasts so long. I prefer this to the mousse as you don't really feel it in your hair. 

What are your favourite hair products? 

Daily Makeup #1.

I've not done a post like this in so long! Although I have millions of cosmetics, my makeup doesn't change that often. I go through phases of things, and I rotate foundations and wear a different blusher each day (I get a use out of all my blushers) but things like powder and eye makeup doesn't usually require changing.

This is just a simple post on the products that I've been using recently. At the moment I'm mixing foundations (apparently thats a massive no no but I find mixing a £20 foundation with a £10 foundation works just as well and is more economical) at the moment it's usually Cliniques Even Better foundation which the Bourjois Healthy Mix (which is a bit dark for me so I mix it with a Clinque one which is too light). For applying foundation, I use the Sigma Flat Top Kabuki brush which is absolutely perfect! 

I usually use MACs Pro Longwear concealer under my foundation as a sort of primer (I don't usually wear primer as my skin can become oily) and it always hides any redness. 

I've been wearing the Me Me Me! blush in Coral which is lovely and so worth the price. On my cheek bones I use my Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam, I often get people asking what I'm wearing and I do think this is my number one product. I think it might be sold out now, but hopefully they'll restock. 

For my blusher and highlighter I use a Topshop blush brush which is very good. 

I use a powder every day to set my makeup and get rid of any shine. This is usually a MAC MSF Natural in Light/Medium but I think I might need to invest in the Medium. I love this powder, it's the only compact powder that works for me. I usually use loose powder but it can get a bit messy. I use an ELF complexion brush for powder, it's lovely and soft and the bristles rarely fall out.

Moving on to my eyebrows, my Youtube tutorial will go into more depth but I use the Benefit Brow Zings powder with an ELF small angled brush. I don't think I'll every change this, except maybe switch to just plain brown matte eyeshadow as I don't use the wax in the Brow Zings so it becomes a bit of a waste. 

I usually use Rimmels liquid eye liner, but recently bought the maybelline gel eyeliner. I have a Smashbox and a MAC gel eyeliner and never really could get the hang of it. Its the same with the Maybelline version although I am getting better. I find that the gel does smudge off on my brow bone though. 

I've been using the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara for a while now and it's almost empty, I think I will repurchase though as its one of my all time favourites. It doesn't smudge often either, which I find is rare in mascaras. 

I don't usually wear eyeshadow but today I'm wearing Half Baked and Dark Horse from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I find eyeshadow hard to do as I always get a lot of fall out when I'm doing it and it's just quite messy. I wear enough makeup as it is! 

Finally, I always use my Jurlique Rose Love Balm before applying a matte lipstick like this Barry M in 147. It means it applies on a lot easier and doesn't make my lips look caked and dry yet the colour is still very pigmented. 

I think I've covered everything! That's my updated daily makeup routine. 

Midnight City.

  

TOPSHOP top, shoes & jeans, URBAN OUTFITTERS necklace. 

I wore this yesterday while running to Graemes to pick up my Glossybox (I've still not changed my address) I hardly ever wear jeans really but I think I couldn't find any tights. How gorgeous are my wee shoes!? I posted a picture of them on twitter a while ago after I got them in the sale for £10. I used to have a similar pair from New Look which died a well earned death a long time ago. Very happy to have something similar in my life, even if I do look like a gangster.

I think I'll give my views on the glossybox in another post! Although I will say that I do still love the idea, and this months box was great (though I really wanted the yellow nail polish and the facial oil!) but I'm looking forward to trying out the Xen Tan... I hope the sample will do all of me, I don't want to end up with half a leg untanned or something.

Today I had a clear out, took two bags of clothes to charity and also put heaps of things on my blog shop I think if i'm going to be moving to London in the near future I will have to get rid of quite a lot of junk I've accumulated!

Cutting Room Creative - Leeds.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd just had my hair cut, it was actually my first chop in a year (the last time I'd visited the hairdresser I'd gone for a shaved bit on one side) so I was slightly apprehensive as to how it would go down. I thought I'd do a small review on the salon because it's hard to find a good salon, and I really struggled to find somewhere when I first moved to Leeds. 

I booked in at Cutting Room Creative, a salon in the centre of Leeds, with a graduated stylist called Lucy (massive shout out to Lucy, she is lovely!). She confessed she was also growing out a shaved side of her hair, which instantly made me feel relaxed! I had an idea of how I wanted my hair (not much different, just neatened up and the dead ends chopped off) and Lucy set to work. 

I've taken a few pictures of the products that she used, I was lucky enough to be talked through each one and how to use them. Firstly, my hair was washed with Kerastase shampoo and conditioner (seriously have to get some of this, it's on my wishlist!) which made my hair so soft and manageable. I was off to Lovebox straight after my appointment so obviously I needed gorgeous, big hair. 

I asked Lucy for some tips on how to get volume in my hair, and she recommended Pli (pictured) from the L'oreal Professionnel Tecni Art range which is a "heat activated setting spray" to give massive amounts of volume. She also used the Air Fix firm hold spray (pictured) and the Hot Style Constructor (also pictured) which are all designed to give the hair volume and also set it in place without that horrible sticky or crunchy feeling that most products give. (NOTE: I've only given a small run down of the products as I don't own them, except Pli, and they were only used on me and not by me. For more information, click here) 

Luckily, my hair wasn't butchered and Lucy listened to me and only cut off what was required. She styled my hair perfectly, I didn't have the obligatory run home to the mirror to style it my own way! 

If you live in Leeds or Chapel Allerton (as they have a salon there too) or are visiting you should definitely check out Cutting Room Creative. 

If you're a student, you get 50% off during the week, but if not you get 25% off your first visit. 

Overhyped.

I have a few things to blog about, but sans SD card it's just not possible! No blog post is complete without pictures. I'm planning on raiding Graemes flat tomorrow, hopefully I'll find one there and can move on with my life. Twitter followers will know that Graeme, my boyfriend, has gone off to Australia for a couple of weeks to do some gigs. I always get a bit sad at first, but it does go quite fast. I will never forget my first month in Leeds last year (after I had moved all the way down alone from Scotland) and Graeme had a two week tour in America, followed by a few days at home and then another two week tour of Australia. I remember feeling worried at the time, but it did set me up for life in a new city on my own!

I've been thinking about moving to London for a while now. I have big plans for my ~lyf~ and really want to get on with it but I can't find any opportunities/internships in Leeds and I feel a bit like I'm wasting time here. I'm trying to work out if I could handle living in London though...
What's everyones thoughts on this?

ALSO: I should probably mention I've added a few items to my blogshop! I have so much stuff that I want to get rid of, but can't face throwing away. If you've seen anything in my posts that you want, get in touch and make me an offer I can't refuse ;)

Lovebox.

A small summary post of what went down at Lovebox on friday, if you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I lost my SD card from my camera on the stage somewhere which meant I lost ALL my photos. Seriously gutted about that! I got some really good photos/videos of Graeme playing because I took almost none at Rockness... but they will never see the light. A massive well done to Graeme who played three times on friday!
We stayed in the Malmaison hotel which was beautiful, I got some pictures... which were lost waahhhh.

Anyway, I took a quick photo of what I wore on the train down there. I also got my hair cut early on Friday morning which I will do a full post on soon. The dress is from Ark Clothing, the necklace is Urban Outfitters and the belt is Primark.

Overall, Lovebox was truly amazing. River Island were set up in VIP handing out clothes, OPI were doing free manicures and Bumble and Bumble were also there doing free haircuts. The boys also got some free jeans from Uniqlo.
I wandered over to the Sleek makeup stall later on, which was out in the main festival area, but they completely ignored me! I was the only person in there, and they barely looked up and no one said hello. I'm not sure what was going on there, but needless to say, that's terrible service Sleek! Although very good for my bank balance as they were selling their palettes for only £5 and I didn't end up getting any.

After Lovebox, we headed to The Nest where Graeme played his final set of the night. I decided to head back to our hotel, as I was seriously sleepy after about 12 hours of drinking and no food! I was involved in a minor taxi crash with a bollard, but finally made it to bed. Massive drama.

Anyway, maybe someone will find my SD card and you will see the photos but I highly doubt that. Did anyone else head to Lovebox? The weather yesterday was awful, I'm so glad Graeme was playing on Friday as it was so warm!

You can go your own way.

Tonight is all about BED. I went out with my friend Sarah tonight for dinner and drinks, possibly had one too many cocktails and now I'm sleepy.

Yesterday I decided to take the plunge and purchase some St. Tropez. I also bought a tanning mit (i highly recommend) and put the thinnest layer on as it was my first time using a real fake tan. I woke up this morning with lovely tanned skin. I'm really impressed with it, and although I do love a gradual tanner, I think I will be using this from now on.
I put another layer on tonight which was a bit thicker so I'm hoping to wake up with lovely bronzed skin tomorrow.

I only have one day left of work and it's off to watch the boyfriend play at Lovebox in London!

Recent Purchases: Sleek, Barry M.

L-R Blush swatches: Me Me Me Blush Me! in Coral and Sleek Blush in Lifes a Peach.

I made a few purchases again today, I've really been very good on the whole spending front recently so I think I deserve it (sort of). I picked up two Barry M polishes, in Peach Melba and Blue Moon. I have been hunting down Peach Melba for so so long! I finally found it today in one of the bigger shops. Very pleased! Its a lovely colour, a light peach. I also fell in love with Blue Moon, a pastel baby blue. Its an interesting colour, it seems to have a ever so slight sheen to it when its wet but nothing when it's dried (that I can see...) I highly recommend both of these.

I also picked up a new Sleek blusher called Life's a Peach. This is another one I've been desperately searching for, I'm so in love with peaches and corals. I don't think I own any other blushers this shade, its a really true peach shade which will look gorgeous with a tan.
Finally, I got my hands on the Me Me Me Blush Me! blush in Coral. This is a favourite of the blogging world, and I can tell I'm going to love it.

What's everyones thoughts on my new buys?

Have I Told You Lately.

Today I did something quite impressive (although not something I would ever recommend) and that was complete a 3000 word essay in a day (12 hours). It's not something I should be proud of, but that's what you get for being a procrastinator and leaving EVERYTHING until the last minute.
For anyone that wants to know, I'm doing a less-than-part-time diploma in Cosmetic Science, I'm not sure what I want to do in life but I know it will be involving cosmetics some how.
I'm so glad it's out of the way. I still have so much more to do, I've taken on a few little side projects recently which is all work experience but I'm going to be shattered for the near future.

I bought a few glossy magazines recently, I love the start of the month! Although after reading all day, I'm not sure if my little eyes can take it for much longer.
I also bought a couple of Models Own polishes are they're 2 for £8 in Boots at the moment, I got Golden Peach which is a lovely peach with gold through it and Jade Stone which is a nicer Top Turquoise (I think) a bit Barry M "Mint" and just lovely!
I've had the Models Own/Wah Nails pen for a while but still can't use it. Bleugh.

Today I dyed my hair a nice warm medium brown, I liked my last colour but my roots came through and I couldn't be bothered with the upkeep. This colour is closer to my natural colour (although a bit darker but it will fade a considerable amount).

Aaaand finally, some pictures of my wardrobe/shoes. A giant mess! I have around 40 pairs of shoes here in Leeds and more at home. Which means I have about 100 shoes altogether (because I have two feet). Sickening, really.

What has everyone done with their sunday?