My Morning and Night Skincare Routine

My Skincare Routine

At the start of the year, I radically shook up my skincare routine by re-introducing some old favourites and new products to my everyday sequence, so I wanted to share with you my updated routine right from when I get up to what I use before bed.

AM - Cleanse, Tone & Moisturise
I tend to keep my morning routine simple, quick and efficient, as for me the most important thing in the daytime is protection. So for cleanser I use a basic cleanser to wake up my face and at the moment I'm using the Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser. For toner I spritz my face with one of my all time favourite tonics, the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer. Then finally I finish with my most important step, an SPF. I'm particularly fond of the La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SOF 50+ as it sinks in really well and doesn't leave that horrible white cast, that some SPF's tend to do.

PM - Cleanse, Treat & Moisturise
In the evening I focus more on cleansing, treating and moisturising, starting with removing my make-up using my favourite Make Up Eraser to get rid of all my make-up and daily grind. I then go in with my holy grail Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water and a large cotton pad, just to make sure my face is super clean before I cleanse.

Next onto the cleansing portion of my routine. I usually double cleanse of an evening if I have been wearing a full face of make-up that day, so without fail I always start with one of my newest finds, from Una Brennon, the Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil. This is a pleasure to use, smells divine and a little goes a long way. For my 2nd cleanse, I go in with an old favourite, the Cleanse and Polish from Liz Earle. This has a beautiful buttery texture which helps make my skin feel pampered and refreshed. I also wipe away each cleanser with a damp muslin cloth too.

Just lately I've really been into Glycolic products, so once or twice a week I alternate between the Nip + Fab Glycolic Cleanser and Pads and the Pixi Glow Tonic. If I'm using the Nip + Fab Duo, I will swap out my cleanse and polish and replace it with the glycolic cleanser or if I do my normal cleansing routine I will follow with the Pixi Glow Tonic, swiped over the face with a cotton pad. And when I'm not using my Glycolic products, I exfoliate once a week with the Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel.

I've also been obsessed with Charcoal Nose Pore Strips from T-Zone, which I have been using once every two weeks. These really do the trick at removing any blackheads I may have, but be warned these are a little painful to remove!

Masks are another must have in my weekly routine and at the moment I'm currently rotating between the Una Brennon Salicylic Acid Anti-Blemish Pore Purifying Clay Mask and the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask. The Una Brennon one is great for deep cleaning the skin and the Bliss one is perfect if your short of time and you need a quick energising fix.

Lastly I finish my evening routine with using coconut oil around my eye area and my holy grail Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream and if I'm in need of a subtle to glow to the face, I use the St Tropez Bronzing Face Lotion.

Drugstore Makeup Haul - NYX Cosmetics, Crown Brush, Makeup Eraser and More

Makeup and Beauty Haul

Last Sunday I attended the Professional Beauty Trade Show and thought it would be a great opportunity to pick up some bargains, so here's what I managed to find. Let me know if you've tried any of theses products and what are your thoughts?

NYX Cosmetics

While I'm a big fan of NYX Cosmetics I haven't bought anything from them in a while now, as I do find in the past NYX hasn't been as accessible as some other drugstore makeup brands. Thankfully I have heard NYX will be opening some stand alone stores within the UK soon, which is exciting and they have also started selling on Boots.com and Feelunique.com.

It was great to see NYX at the show again and this time they where bigger and better, meaning I managed to pick up some exciting new products to review including.
> NYX Brush Cleaner
> NYX Micro Brow Pencil
> NYX Eyebrow Gel
> NYX Wonder Stick - Vegas Nay
> NYX Lip Liner Mahogany
> NYX Matte Lipsticks in Natural, Whipped Caviar, Nude & Tea Rose
> NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops & Snow Cap

Make Up Eraser

Having already reviewed the amazing Make Up Eraser, I was keen to grab a couple more, meaning I can alternate between a few, while the others are in the wash. I picked up three including a black one and the new baby blue release, so I'm defiantly well stocked up now!

Blank Canvas Cosmetics and Crown Brush

I've been wanting to try out some new make-up brushes for a while now, in particular ones I don't already own and also back ups of some I use on a daily basis. Excitingly I discovered a new make-up brand that reminded me a lot of a cross between Morphe and Sigma. Blank Canvas Cosmetics stocks an affordable range of synthetic brushes to cater for any make-up enthusiast. I picked up a E32, F15 and F21 to try, so I'll keep you updated on my thoughts!

I also grabbed a MAC 217 dupe and a few eyeliner brushes from Crown, so I can perfect my winged liner skills, which I mentioned about in my New Years Beauty Resolutions.

St Tropez and Fake Bake

Face Tanning is something I wanted to try more of this year, as this is an area I've never really delved into properly. I grabbed a few face tanning lotion's to try and review for you including, St Tropez Bronzing Face Lotion and Fake Bake The Face Anti-Aging, Self-Tanning Lotion with MatixXL-3000.

January Favourites 2016 - Cleansers, Converse & Colouring!

January Favourites 2016

Happy 1st February guys, I cannot believe we are one month into 2016 already! January for me is always a month of new discoveries and with a good mix of Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle favourites, here's my round up of what I've been loving for the month of January. What have been some of your loves for your January?

Products mentioned:
1. Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara - I always see this pop up on my Pinterest feed as one of the best drugstore mascara's, so I thought I would finally give this a go and I certainly wasn't disappointed. This Lash Accelerator is wonderful at making my lashes look elongated and full. The brush is also long and thin, and is perfect for grabbing every lash to help lengthen and lift them.

2. Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil - Una Brennan is a brand I only discovered recently thanks to Vivianna Does Makeup. This Super Facialist line is a premium drugstore brand which stocks a wide variety of interesting skincare treats.

Last month I was in need of a new cleanser and thanks to Boots having a 1/3 off I thought I would take up the opportunity to try the Vitamin C Cleansing Oil. This oil is a dream to use as not only does it smell divine, it really does cleanse my skin well, with the added extra of removing my remaining make-up. I tend to use this in the evening as a first step cleaner, after I have removed the bulk of my make-up with either the Make Up Eraser or Micellar Water.

3. Pixi Glow Tonic Exfoliating Toner - You may have seen me already review this cult product here on the blog. This gentle glycolic toner has become a staple in my evening skincare routine and works beautifully at keeping my skin glowing and refined.

4. Make Up Eraser - The Make Up Eraser has become another holy grail essential within my evening routine. This fleecy cloth, removes every scrap of my make-up quickly and efficiently and is something I now can't live without!

5. Soap and Glory Breakfast Scrub - Previously I have always made my own body scrubs as I have never been able to find anything that could perform as well as this, until I discovered the Breakfast Scrub from Soap and Glory. This beautiful maple scented scrub works really well at removing my dead skin and leaving my body feeling smooth and silky. 

6. Converse in Black - I recently picked up my 2nd pair of Converse in black and again like my white ones I have been totally in love with these, as they are really versatile and easy to style.

7. River Island Fluffy Bobble Hats - Both of these fluffy hats have become my Winter wardrobe essentials as not only do they dress up an outfit, they also keep my head warm!

8. Orelia Three Hearts Necklace - This beautiful necklace from Orelia has been the only thing I have worn for the last month as it's pretty, dainty and compliments any outfit.

9. The Magical City Colouring Book - I've really been addicted to colouring in lately, as it's truly therapeutic and calming. It's also something I have been enjoying doing before I go to bed as it helps me wind down and clear my mind.

Make Up Eraser Review and Photos

I absolutely love wearing make-up but taking it off can be a pain at times! I currently use my trusty Garnier Micellar Water on a large cotton pad to remove the initial bulk of my make-up, along with the occasional naughty make-up wipe. I then go in and double cleanse my skin to ensure every scrap of make-up has been removed, which can be a timely process.

I've heard a lot of hype about the Make Up Eraser as it claims to remove make-up and even waterproof mascara, just by wetting the cloth. Now I'm defiantly all for making the nightly make-up removal process easier, so I thought I would give it a go and here's my thoughts.

Price
This retails for £16.99, I picked mine up in Selfridges for £17. For me this is an extortionate price for what is essentially just a flannel, but it does say it can be reused for up to a 1,000 washes.

You can also pick this up from the following online retailers too including, Make Up Eraser Website, Beauty Bay and Victoria Health.

Packaging
The pink packaging is shaped like an eye-catching eraser and it certainly caught my eye at first glance. It also had clear instructions on how to use this to it's best advantage. The cloth itself  feels like a beautiful soft, fleecy throw, it's also a decent long size too for multiple uses.

The Original Make Up Eraser comes in pink, black and baby blue, which is only available on the official website.

Application
Before you use this for the first time, it's advised you wash it once, which is what I did. I then wet part of the cloth with warm water as instructed and started rubbing away my make-up. At first this really was an odd feeling just using a fleece throw to suddenly magic away your make-up, but it really does work! I was surprised with one swipe how much had come off my face, I also couldn't believe how easy it took off my stubborn black liner and mascara.

Because of the length of the cloth I defiantly think you can also use this about 3-4 times depending on how much make-up you have on, before you wash it again.

 

I wanted to test this out against my regular Micellar Water, so I removed my right side with the micellar and the left with the Make Up Eraser. I did both for 5 minutes and both removed well, but the micellar water did still leave some mascara in between my lashes and so I always need to go back in with a cotton bud to get rid of the remainder.

Overall Thoughts
This was truly amazing in every way! Within 5 minutes this super soft cloth had removed all my make-up efficiently and effectively. I do not know what's in it or how it does it, but it really did remove every scrap of make-up compared to my regular removal routine. As I mentioned above, I typically find it quite hard to get my mascara off, but this genuinely removed every scrap. I also liked how it didn't feel harsh or abrasive on the skin either.

It is a shame this is a little on the pricey side, but if you take into consideration how many uses you can get out of this cloth and how much you would pay for whatever make-up remover and cotton pads you use every time you run out, then it really isn't that much. So if your looking for a quicker and more convenient way to remove your make-up each night, then I would defiantly give this a go!

I award the Make Up Eraser 4.9 out of 5