Blogmas - Day Two: November Favourites'

Hi guys.

Its been a while since I did a favorites blogpost...in fact I have only ever done one favourites' post before and that was almost 12 months ago!  So as it is Blogmas and November has left us for another year I am going to show you what I have been loving for the month.

November was a big month for me trying what I already had as well as trying a couple of new products which I received from a few Birchboxes.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish: Let me start by saying this product is amazing!  I cannot believe I have never thought of trying this.  I received this sample in a Birchbox earlier in the year and I have used this ever since.  I have two samples and am almost out of my second sample.  Safe to say I will be purchasing the full size soon as my skin has never looked better while using this.  It is a thick cream which when applied to the skin, makes my skin tingle due to the eucalyptus oil which smells like heaven in a bottle.  I just squeeze a bit onto my hands and rub it onto my skin and with the muslin cloth that came with it, I wipe it off with hot water and my skin feels refreshed and clean.  It does remove make up but I tend to use this once I have taken off my make up and any residual make up left comes off with it.  I will have to go to my local Boots soon and pick the full size up.  You can purchase this at Boots.

Bioderma: I have mentioned this in my skincare routine earlier this year (you can find that blogpost here)  and during November I have been using this almost every day and night as I find it cleanses my face beautifully and gets rid of make up and impurities without causing stinging to the eyes and face.  I am about half way through the bottle and will be repurchasing when it is nearly empty.  You can buy the 250ml bottle at Boots but I bought this through Amazon 

Parlor Smoothing Blowout Spray: I don't normally use a lot of products in my hair but as I received this sample in a Birchbox, I decided to try this out and boy am I impressed.  This product smells fantastic and smooths and give my hair a shiney finish. I don't exactly know where to purchase this but I'm sure you can purchase this at Birchbox. 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in 10 Beige: I have recently done a blogpost on this foundation which you can see here.  This foundation gives me a full coverage without it feeling and looking cakey.  The scent is pleasant and doesn't linger once applied.  You can purchase this at Boots or Debenhams.

Chanel LE BLANC DE CHANEL Multi-use Illuminating Base: This base is one of the best I have ever tried.  It is so silky to apply yet is quite a thick feeling (I know that sounds weird but it is the only way  I can describe it)  The scent is so nice, it smells kind of fruity.  It gives the skin a nice glow while priming the face.  You can either use it mixed into your foundation or alone under it.  I have only used it alone but I will have to try it mixed into my foundation,  You can also pick this up from Boots and Debenhams.

Nuxe Reve De Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm:  Again I have reviewed this on my blog which I will link here.  I have started using this more this month as my lips have become so dry and  I know that it helps with dry, cracked lips.  My lips are still dry but not as cracked and sore.  I think this has become my holy grail lip balm!  You can purchase this from Marks and Spencer's or SpaceNK.

Real Techniques Brushes:  I have only shown three of my Real Techniques brushes to show them in my favourites' post but I am loving the range as a whole.  They are soft yet stiff when it comes to applying make up to the face.  You can purchase them from Boots and Superdrug.

Superdrug Eyelash Curler: Lastly is a boring product but a useful one.  I have been trying to use eyelash curlers more often and I didn't want to spend a fortune on them if I didn't use them often enough so I bought these from Superdrug which you can purchase in store or online here.  They help curl my lashes especially my left eyelashes as they seem to be all over the place and mascara can't seem to straighten them up unless I have curled them before hand.

That's it for my favourites' this month.  I will be doing a December favourites' post instead of a yearly one as I cannot remember what I have been loving this year (I really need to write this down or do a regular favourites' post, which I will try to accomplish in 2016).

What have you been loving this month?  Any recommendations?

Bye for now.

Jess. X

BONUS POST - Mini Make Revolution & MUA Haul

There are many great drugstore make-up brands out there but there is one that seems to have caused a stir amongst the blogosphere.  It is funny to think it has only been 10 months since the brand first released it's products but the amount of positive feedback has catapulted its way to the top of most bloggers wishlists.  Makeup Revolution is an affordable drugstore brand that gives purchasers high end products at ridiculously low prices.

Reading other blogs, you cannot get away from a post or two of reviews from this brand and not actually seeing them sold in stores put me off a little bit...OK a lot.  I like to see the make-up in person, maybe swatch a few things before deciding whether or not to purchase it, so I wasn't so hyped up about purchasing anything from their line.  It was only as time went on and there were more posts around showing swatches and reviews of products that I thought about maybe buying a few products to test out and you know how it is...once ordered you cannot wait for the order to come.  Well that is how I have been this week and when they came, they came straight out of the packaging and were photographed immediately!

I chose three items from the line plus one little thing from MUA.

Makeup Revolution

Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette Iconic 2

This palette was the one palette I wanted to get in this order as I have heard it is a dupe for Urban Decay Naked 2 palette and I wanted to see how it compared to its higher end counterpart. (comparison review coming soon) 

Makeup Revolution Aqua Seal Liquid Eye Primer

I have used some eye primers in the past and they were all creamy so when I came across this eye primer, it intrigued me so into my cart came this product.  I am curious to find out how this works and whether it helps with keeping shadows lasting longer. (I am fortunate to not have oily eyelids.)

Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit

One of my personal resolutions is to keep the upkeep of my brows to a standard and what better way to do this by using a brow kit.  I chose the medium dark kit as I have quite dark hair and I thought the lighter kit would be a waste of money as it wouldn't show enough.

MUA

MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 1

I needed a pressed powder as this now was the only thing I was missing in my daily make-up routine and when I saw this, I put it straight into my cart.  I have tried other products from this brand and have been impressed with the brand so far so I know that I will like this product.

So that is my mini haul.  I have been excited for my order to arrive and have high hopes for Makeup Revolution so I will keep you posted on what I think.  Reviews will be up in due course.  I already know what my next Makeup Revolution products will be and they have been added to my wishlist.

Both Makeup Revolution and MUA can be found on their websites respectively and can also be found at Superdrug.

Hope you enjoyed this little bonus post and there will be a main post up later on today (Friday)

What Makeup Revolution products have you tried?  Would you recommend anything else from this brand?

Bye for now.

Jess. X

Skincare Sunday

Recently, I have been on a skincare kick and have purchased a ton of skincare products...in fact, there are enough products to create a skincare series...thus Skincare Sunday!

Skincare Sunday is a series where each week I will post about my favourite brands, what has worked for me and what hasn't, reviews of products, updated skincare routine etc.  If  anyone fancy's joining in with this series or wants to do a guest post, feel free to let me know.

So...Skincare Sunday you might ask?  How did this come about?  Well, back in September, I bought a new foundation and back then I liked a foundation which was matte but when I started wearing it more often, I noticed that it clung to dry patches on my cheeks, so I decided to invest in a moisturiser and exfoliator and that seemed to help a little bit, but my cheeks seemed to still have dry patches. Fast forward to Christmas holidays and I was back at home and decided to find out what skin type I was.   I went to a Clinque counter and she told me that I have a Combination/Dry skin type and that my T-zone is normal/oily and that my cheeks are dry.  So based on that, I have formulated my skincare to help combat my dry cheeks as well as keep my T-zone happy.

So for the next two Sunday's it will be all about my skincare routine.  This week will be the turn of my morning skincare routine and next Sunday will be my nigh time routine.

Nivea Soothing Cleansing Mousse- I found this at my local Superdrug and I hadn't heard anyone mention or heard about it before but the mousse element of it intrigued me and I didn't want a cleanser that was too much time consuming.

Superdrug's Clearly Youthful Hydrating Day Serum- I have dry cheeks and wanted to put moisture back in my cheeks with a hydrating serum.  Again, I have not heard anyone mention it before so I got it on a whim.

Indeed Labs Hydroluron-  Now this is one product I have heard a lot of and have been wanting to purchase it for a long time but never wanted to because of the price but I bit the bullet and purchased it and have been using it ever since.

Garnier Moisture Match Revitalising Hydrating Gel- You will see a pattern emerge within my skincare because a lot of my products, I have never heard anything about them and this is one of them.  I am looking forward to trying this one out.

Murad Blemish Spot Treatment-  I have heard a lot about this brand but not about this product and have been using it since I purchased it.

Pixi by Petra Shea Butter Lip Balm in Ripe Raspberry-  I am currently doing a series called #30daystested (which can be found here) and this is the lip balm I have been using to combat my dry lips and to keep them soft.  I will be doing a review of this product on the 31st January so keep your eyes peeled for that.  I have another lip balm that I have been dying to include in my skincare routine but that will have to wait until I have reviewed this lip balm.

I am missing an eye cream but that is because I feel I don't need one at the moment but who knows, there might be one in an updated routine later this year.

So that was my morning routine.  I don't use all the products shown at once but most of them are used at some point during the week.  Next week's Skincare Sunday will be my night time routine and an overview of how I am finding the two routines together.

What skincare products do you use and do they help with what ever skin complaints you have?

Bye for now.

Jess. X

Boots and Superdug Haul

As if it is 2015 already and my little blog is over one month old and a lot has happened.  As much as I as I would like to say I have been busy on holiday...I can't.  I have been doing University work and I would like to thank you all for being patient while my pile of work got smaller.  There will be a more regular schedule from today as I am sorting out a schedule for myself.  Enough of that, on with the post.

Recently I have done a bit of shopping, both on the internet and in shops...oops!  And as much as I would like to show you what I have bought on the internet, I really want to wait until I have everything I have ordered so for now, here is what I have bought...

(everything you see here I bought with my own money and am not being paid to write this :)  Also, this may be a picture heavy post)

The first place I went to was Superdrug and I spent a fortune in here...to be honest, I could have spent more but I stopped myself.

 I bought a shower jelly from LUSH back in September and it has just been sitting on my desk staring at me to use it.  So after many hours of looking at reviews, I was informed that using a 'poof' or what ever they are called work the best with a shower jelly, so this was on the top of my list

 Next up is lip balms.  For some reason I have been addicted to buying these recently and altogether I have bought a total of 4 lip balms albeit 2 are the same product!  Both lip balms I bought from Superdrug are from Nivea.  First is Nivea' Fruity Shine lip balm in 'Peach'.  I adore all scents to do with peach and I knew when I saw it, I had to have it and this little fellow came home with me.  the next lip balm is Nivea's Lip Butter in 'Blueberry Blush'  I have two others from this range and I love them.  They are so moisturising and smell amazing!  I have enough of them to make a blogpost (ooo ideas!)  Next on the Nivea train is a skincare product.  Now I have to put it out there that my skin has never got on with Nivea before and I have always skipped this brand when choosing skincare but I liked the sound of this product and thought I would give it a go and boy am I happy I had.  This little beauty is Nivea's 'Soothing Cleansing Moose' and while it looks like a toner or water, this actually pumps out a lightweight foam that cleans so well.  I could write more but I am going to wait until I do a blogpost on it which will come very soon!


 Next is a trio of Superdrug's own Vitamin E skincare brand.  I have recently been on the look out for inexpensive but effective skincare to kick start my skincare routine and I picked up these three to start the ball rolling.  First we have Superdrug's 'Leave-on Moisture Mask'  I have only used this once and using it once doesn't leave me much to go on for a review so I will keep using it and get back to you but I am hoping it is going to be a good thing to keep stocked up as it seems to be a good product so far.  Next is Superdrug's 'Moisturising Day Cream with SPF 15'  I got this as a morning moisturising cream and I am not really enjoying it as I find it a thick cream for a morning but I am willing to give it a fair go until I can get a thinner cream.  Lastly is Superdrug's Nourishing Night Cream.  This stuff smells so good and is a thin, almost gel like cream that my skin seems to like.  All will have a full review sometime in the future.

Next is another Superdrug own brand of skincare called 'Naturally Radiant'  I bought a few products from this line with the first being a 2 in 1 Moisturiser and serum.  I haven't tried this yet but I am hoping to use this as my morning moisturiser.

 Another product from the 'Naturally Radiant' Line is their 'Glycolic Overnight Peel'  Again, I have only used this once and so far I am impressed and am wanting to try some more of this sort of product in the future.

 Next is Garnier's Moisture Match.  I saw this and thought that it could brighten up my skin while moisturising it at the same time.  I haven't used it yet as I want to see if the 2 in 1 moisturiser and serum does a good job as a morning moisturiser.

 I bought this as I read somewhere that this is good for exfoliation and boy was they right!  I have never seen or felt my skin being so smooth since using this.  I use it mainly with my cleansing foam and this is so gentle and yet removes the dead skin cells that are on the top layer of my skin.  I can see this being a product I will keep repurchasing as and when it is needed.

 This is yet another Superdrug own brand called 'Clearly Youthful' and from this collection I have two products.  The first is their 'Hydrating Day Serum'  I have only used this a handful of times and yet I am enjoying using this.

Another product from the 'Clearly Youthful' Line is their 'Resurfacing Night Serum'  I am enjoying this product also and it seems that my skin like this as well.

 This product was recommended by Hayley from London Beauty Queen (She can be found here!  Check her out, she is amazing!)  I like her and probably thousands who use hairspray hate the smell of the chemical ridden scent that seems to come with all hairsprays but 'Urban Fudge's Iced raspberry and Vanilla hair spray is just what we needed.  This has very little chemical smell and as for the hold of this product, I am yet to find out as I haven't tried this yet but I have high hopes for this!


Now onto the few boots products I bought while I was in Leeds the other day.

 Whilst browsing through the high end skincare and beauty section, I came across this brand that I hadn't heard anything about, Ioma.  This brand was only exclusive to the UK on-line or in Harrods stores and they have now branched out into the larger boots stores.  The product I bought from them was Ioma's 'Astringent Toning Foam' and the woman at the store said it was a toner and cleanser all in one and it smells like coconuts which I love the smell of!  I have very high hopes of this brand and this product so a review will be coming soon.

 I have heard of this foundation raved about by so many bloggers and youtubers that I had to buy it to see how good it is.  Chanel's 'Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation' is a highly popular and raved about foundation and I am in the lightest shade in shade 10.  I haven't used this yet but I will in the short term and there will definitely be a review coming soon!

Along with the Chanel foundation, I also bought Chanel's 'Le Blanc De Chanel' which is primer.  I have also got high hopes for this product and this smell amazing.  I will pair it up with a few other foundations that I own and see if it holds up to them too. 

Because I had bought a couple of products from Chanel, I got a cute little sample of their 'Hydra Beauty Micro Serum'  Again, I haven't tried this but when I do,  a small review will be on its way!

Phew!  That was a long post.  If you are still with me then thanks for reading.  What skincare and beauty products have you bought recently?

Bye for now.

Jess. X