Sunday 31 August 2014

Top 3 Facemasks

There is nothing better than taking 20 minutes out of your day to really treat your skin to a wonderful facemask. Two to three times a week I like to apply a deep cleansing mask that will help rid my skin of blackheads and general nasties that build up throughout the week. I have always been a fan of facemasks and these three masks are particularly great for my oily/combination skin.

The Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask (longest name ever!) is an amazing mask for unclogging pores and cleansing the skin. It contains Salicylic Acid which helps remove impurities, and the Kaolin in this mask is fantastic at absorbing oil. Avocado, honey and Shea butter are fantastic at adding extra moisture to the skin as well as providing skin balancing vitamins. This applies as a thick clay that dries hard on the skin after 5 minutes and then needs to be removed using a warm, wet flannel. My skin feels fresh and clear after using this, without that squeaky clean feeling that some masks can give. 

Lush's Mask of Magnaminty is one of my all time favourite masks and I have been using this for years. They recently released a self preserving version of the Mask of Magnaminty and I must admit, I am loving this formula. They have taken out the safe synthetic preservatives and increased the amount of honey in the mask to make the mask self preserving. Due to the extra honey, this mask is not only cleansing and purifying, it is also extremely hydrating. It contains honey, kaolin, ground aduki beans, evening primrose seeds, peppermint oil and fair trade vanilla absolute. The peppermint oil is stimulating and cooling and gives a tingly sensation to the skin. The ground aduki beans act as a brilliant exfoliant when removing the mask with a warm, wet flannel and the kaolin is extremely cleansing. I will be repurchasing this again and again. 

The final mask in my top 3 is the Sanctuary Spa 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask. I have heard a lot of hype surrounding this mask recently so I knew I had to at least give it a try and form my own opinion, and... I love it. I love the fact that it's only to be kept on for five minutes and is perfect for applying quickly before work on bad skin days. When I first applied it, it felt like I was applying warm melted chocolate to my face, which is a weird but satisfying sensation. It is easy and quick to apply with a thin layer spreads across the face and it is just as easy to remove. My skin felt instantly cleansed and the warming feeling slowly cools down after applying. I can not wait to try more from this range.

Is there any masks for oily/combination skin that you could reccomend to me?


Wednesday 27 August 2014

My Shoe Collection 2014

I am needing a shoe intervention after recently trying to buy multiple pairs of New Balance trainers with my most recent pay. However, I seen scene and only purchased one pair, which has really just made me want to buy more...

Since moving up to Aberdeen, I had to really think about what shoes I wanted to take with me and which shoes I had to leave behind. This is a mini shoe collection of the shoes that I have up in Aberdeen and my most loved and most worn shoes.

River Island 

Topshop

Topshop

River Island

River Island

River Island

New Look

New Look

New Balance 410

Topshop

Newlook


Monday 25 August 2014

The Reading List

I love books and my shelves at home are filled to breaking point with chick-lit and biographies but I have found a few books recently that I have been loving and haven't been able to put them down.

First up is the Lush Cosmetics To Go book which is a lovely, colourful book about the company that came before Lush. I am a big fan of Lush and Lush's values and this meant this book was a hit from the start. As a business graduate, I found the business model and ethics of cosmetics to go extremely interesting and the book just made me love Lush more than I already do. There are images from the Cosmetics To Go mail order catalogue and photos of old products that I wish I had a chance to try. If you love Lush as much as I do, this magical book is a must read. 

I recently picked up the highly coveted It by Alexa Chung and was not disappointed. Every Beauty and Fashion Blogger must own this book, so I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about. It is beautifully done with photographs and tit bits about Alexa and her likes and dislikes, her style inspiration and personal anecdotes that help you fall in love with her even more. She is one of my style icons and I'm so happy to have this book on my shelf. 

Last but certainly not least, is Mindy Kaling's hilarious book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me. Mindy is one of my all time favourite people and if I could invite any one to a fantasy dinner party it would Mindy (and Jennifer Lawrence). 'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me' is laugh out loud funny with touching personal stories that have inspired me not to take life too seriously and to laugh at myself sometimes. 

What books are you guys reading? Any I should pick up? 

Thursday 21 August 2014

What I am Loving This Week #3

Back to work this week and back to reality. Scotland's weather is so far from the burning sun and blue skies of Barcelona and I have got the umbrella out once more.
However, there are a few beauty favourites that have made my week a little bit more special.

I have raved about the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray on GS before and I am once again loving the results this gives. Sprayed on to damp hair, it gives the best tousled beach waves. I have very fine hair and there is always the chance that a salt spray will give me "dragged through a hedge backwards" hair but this is a pretty amazing product.

My current lip favourite is the Lush Emotional Brilliance Liquid Lipstick in Ambition. These have an amazing formula that is matte, pigmented and extremely moisturising. I feel that these are not spoken about enough in the beauty blogging world, but I promise they are a fantastic lip product with many different shades in the range. Ambition is a true red that would suit any complection and is perfect paired with minimal makeup to create a classic look. The packaging is really unique and unlike anything else on the market right now and each colour is based on the concept of colour therapy. 

A foundation that I have been loving and has been a well discussed base in the blogosphere is the L'Oreal True Match Foundation. This week I have needed slightly more coverage than my go to tinted moisturisers and BB creams, so I have reached for my trusty True Match. This makes my skin appear flawless and as smooth as silk. I would definetly reccomend this to anyone with an oily/combination skin type because it suits my skin perfectly. 

My nail polish favourite has been Essie Splash of Grenadine. This is a juicey, bright lilac shade which is a perfect colour for summer. I had this on my nails for my holiday and have been reapplying since. I love how hard wearing the formula is with minimal chipping after a week. 

My final favourite is my favourite bath ballistic that Lush offer. Twilight holds a special place in my heart and the scent just makes me feel so relaxed and happy whenever I catch a wiff. It is a lavender and tonka bath bomb that smells both relaxing and sweet. The bath starts out a pale lilac colour when the bath ballistic is first popped in the bath, then changes to a dark indigo shade with beautiful silver lustre.

Those are my loves this week, what have you been loving? 

Saturday 16 August 2014

Barcelona Baby!

So I am back after Spending an amazing week in Barcelona with my cousin and her lovely friends. a week in the sun was exactly what I needed,and I loved every minute of our Spanish adventure.
Barcelona is the perfect holiday destination, with its beautiful beaches and inspiring city attractions, and our hosts were pretty amazing at showing us the sites.

 At the start of the week, we visited La Sagrada Familia Catherdral which was stunning and architecturally brilliant to see. That evening, we went to some Spanish bars for some Cava (one of Spains specialitys) and pintxos (€1 canapĂ© style snacks at the bars). All the cava was obviously to much for little old me as I went to bed with my head spinning!



Next up was a trip to La Ramblas, which had some typical touristy market stalls and Tapas Bars. We headed to an Irish Bar for €1 beers and watched the Hearts v Rangers game and after had a look at what all the stalls had to offer. 


The beaches in Barcelona are beautiful with white sand and blue oceans and barely anywhere to put your towel because it was so busy. I loved relaxing on the sun lounger, swimming in the sea and jumping the waves, but I did get some interesting, sore burn lines which I have yet to recover from. In the evening we dressed up and headed to a Tapas Bar for dinner, which was delicious, Tapas is such a great way to try different dishes and I could go for Tapas every day. 




On the Tuesday we went to Barcelona Football Stadium, Camp Nou, to pick up Barcelona Tickets and we had a little look around the stadium which was really fun and not something I would have usually chosen to do, as football is not really my thing, but I had fun posing for photos with the statues. 


One of my favourite days was when Elspeth and I went shopping at Catalunya, which is the main square and shopping destination I believe. We started our day off with tea and croissants at a little cafe and then started from one end of the street to the other looking at all the different shops. We came across a McCafe which was like a posh Macdonalds which sold Macarons and I ended up buying one of each flavour. (I also picked up a gorgeous striped dress from Zara which I will feature soon.)




On our final day in Barcelona we hit the water park, Illa Fantasia, which was so much fun. There are over 20 amazing slides and flumes within the park and we went on them all. Totally burnt my back but it was worth it. If you ever go to Barcelona, Waterparks are a must!

For our final meal we headed to Tacos Tacos. If you are ever in Barcelona and are looking for somewhere to eat, Tacos Tacos is the place. The restaurant had a Mexican day of the dead theme with sugar skulls everywhere and the food was incredible, they do not make Tacos like that in the UK. My absolute favourite was a pulled pork and green pepper sauce taco.

I would definitely go back to Barcelona and I miss the sun, sea and food already, but back to work on Monday.

Wednesday 6 August 2014

My Lush Skin Care Routine

As a big Lushie, most of the products I use and try out are from Lush. It has been a while since I bought skincare from the likes of Boots or Superdrug and I wouldn't even say I miss it. 

The wonderful thing about Lush, is that they offer free consultations where they tailor a skincare routine to your specific needs and desires. 

My skin is oily/combination with the occasional hormonal blemish and redness around the nose. I was looking for products that would absorb oil, cleanse my skin, reduce redness and moisturise and the Lush team helped put together the perfect line up. 

First up is the wonderful best selling cleanser, Angels on Bare Skin. (100g £6.40) I had never tried anything like this cleanser before but was intrigued by the concept. Angels on Bare Skin is one of Lush's fresh cleaners and contains some lovely fresh ingredients, including, Kaolin, ground almonds, lavender and Rose Absolute. Kaolin is a natural preservative and helps to absorb oils and cleanse the skin. The ground almonds act as a gentle exfoliant to help buff away dead skin cells and the Lavender and Rose are great for calming the skin, reducing redness and restoring and balancing the skin.

I was then recommended to try adding a toner water into my routine and was advised that the Tea Tree Toner Water (100g £3.95) would work wonders on my skin. Tea tree is antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial so can help to keep away bacteria and help to prevent spots. It is also refreshing and cooling on the skin, great for after cleansing. 

Finally, I was looking for the perfect moisturiser and I think I have found it. Million Dollar Moisturiser (45g £32.50) is their newest moisturiser offering and it was love at first use for me. A thick, sweet scented cream that contains SPF 30 and some of their lovely 'Feeling Younger Highlighter.' Definitely a hit for me. It adds instant glow and protection and I have had so many compliments on my skin whenever I use this moisturiser.

After using these lovely products for the last month, I can honestly say my skin looks and feels so much better, oil and redness have been reduced, blemishes are a rarity and my complexion just looks healthier. Pop into your nearest Lush for a tailored-to-you skin consultation and you will not be disappointed.