Late to the Party

    A great month of managing to use up products in October - 5 of the 6 products chosen got finished, with the exception of the smallest item, which is taking forever to finish!   1. The Body Shop - Chinese Ginseng and Rice Toner Positive aspects of this toner was that it's incredibly hydrating. But this won't be a repurchase as there must have been something in the ingredients that didn't always agree with my skin - some days it would sting, so not particularly soothing for me personally.   2. Elemis - Skin Bliss Capsules I'm not entirely sure that these weren't 'off'. I'd get tiny little bits of the plastic capsule in with the oil every time I used these. Not a repurchase for me.   3. The Hero Project - Vit C-30 Serum This was my Vitamin C 'Product of the Year' for 2017 and I did really love this serum. However, I'm currently trying out a new Vitamin C product as I really wanted one that I could use in my morning r...

It's Halloween week! This has absolutely no bearing on my makeup choices - just thought I'd mention it! Makeup choice-wise this week, it feels like a bit of a 'holding' week. Lots of items I want to use up plus it always feels slightly incoherent when I choose to incorporate my single eye shadows into a weekly makeup bag. But I'm actually looking forward to attempting one-palette-one-month for November and it starts towards the end of this week - so before Thursday, I'll be using the singles and duos in my stash. * Foundation (Not pictured) - Using up some samples of Estee Lauder Double Wear. When I get through some more of my opened foundations in my stash, I'm pretty sure this is the next foundation I'll buy. * E.L.F Under Eye Primer * Under Eye Concealer - Maybelline Age Rewind . I de-cluttered the Ellis Faas concealer from last week as it was far too orange. * Powder - MUA Stay Matte Loose Powder * Highlighter - Wet n Wild Megaglo Hig...

It's been a while since I've chosen some monthly favourites - here are a few things I've been loving recently.    Belenos Skin Botanique   Belenos Botanique are a relatively new-to-me brand that I came across on Instagram whose product range and ethos instantly attracted me. They offer a massive 30% off your first order, but not only that, their products are really well-priced anyway.     This Floral Brew bath soak cost just £7.00 and I really wasn't expecting the giant 250g glass jar when it arrived (I really thought it would be much, much smaller for that price).Packed full of pink Himalayan rock salt and a host of beautiful dried botanicals like Calendula, Rose Buds, Lavender, Hibiscus, Chamomile and Cornflower - you get a generous mix of all ingredients with every scoop. The scent is gorgeous and I'm loving how it makes my bathroom smell beautiful into the next day after use.     Feng Shui Love is a stunning bath and bo...

And just like that, my favourite day of the month rolls around again...     The Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box is a monthly subscription service offering a selection of five full/deluxe sample sized natural beauty, skincare and makeup products.   100% natural, organic, non-toxic, eco-friendly, cruelty free, ethically sourced and often from up and coming British Indie Natural Beauty brands, the products chosen are free from Parabens, Petrochemicals, PEGs (petroleum-based compounds), silicones, Sodium Laureth or Lauryl Sulphate, Phthalates, Propylene Glycol , Synthetic Colours and Fragrances, Triclosan,  Formaldehyde, Toulene, Benzophenone/PABA, Petroleum/Mineral oil, Alcohol,  Urea, PEG, PG/BG, Dioxin, Aluminium, DEET, Camphor, Talc and Carmine. A monthly subscription costs £21.00 + £3.95 p+p BUY HERE     This month's theme is 'Unwind'. And again, the theme and the products from the box fit perfectly with this time of ...

  The Hero Project - Vitamin C-30 Serum £39.00 for 30ml BUY HERE   One of my most favourite skincare ingredients, Vitamin C is an antioxidant which increases collagen production and can reduce pigmentation. It's also a very mild exfoliator, which leads to that lovely bright and healthy glow.   Hands up! I admit that the different types of Vitamin C confuse me somewhat! I know that I've read plenty of reviews mentioning Vitamin C serums that oxidise quickly and have to be kept refrigerated in order to keep them stable and those two issues are something that I don't want to have to deal with. Firstly, I don't want a product that may deteriorate and be unusable before I've finished it and I don't want to have to keep it in the fridge - that would be a sure fire way for me to forget about using it.   Pure Vitamin C is Ascorbic Acid, also called L-ascorbic acid. L-ascorbic acid is the acid form of Vitamin C and is water soluble.    ...

  I was so ready to put away the Nars Natural Radiant Longwear foundation from last week's bag!! If it had cost several quids cheaper it would have already been de-cluttered, I can tell you! I can see that it's going to be a foundation I end up using in a d.i.y foundation cushion mix because it really is almost impossible to use without patching, caking and sinking into pores on it's own. I had so much more joy using the Morphe 35T palette. As I suspected, a week wasn't really long enough to fully appreciate this palette, which is why that I've decided I'm going to (in the future) actually try it for a monthly palette. I have four palettes that I think I could bear using for an entire month - the Morphe 35T, The Lorac Mega Pro 3 palette and my two build-your-own Obsession Makeup palettes. I've decided to start for the whole month of November using the two Obsession palettes. But here's what's in my bag this week:   Foundation: Homemade ...

I've been using Retinol for about 18 months now. Starting off with The Ordinary 2% Advanced Retinol and then choosing the Ishtar Skinlights 1% Bioactive Retinol as a replacement choice. It's been well and truly universally agreed that Retinol is the absolute superstar anti-aging ingredient and an essential product for anyone over 30 - helping to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; helping to even out skin texture and tone; firms the skin and can fight the effects of external stressors.   Ishtar Skinlights 1% Bioactive Retinol £13 for 30ml BUY HERE Firstly, I just need to give some major props to Ishtar Skinlight as a brand. A British indie skincare brand based in Truro, Cornwall, who were the first UK brand to offer mandelic acid products and the only one to offer organic, treatment strength mandelic acid products . They have a wide and impressive range of skin care products for every skin type. Their ranges focus  upon reti...

Another week choosing a palette that's big on choice. This is my rather sorry-looking Morphe 35T palette (which I bought with the two smashed-up pans already there). Last time I only used this for the one week and a week just wasn't enough time to have a full play-around with all of those shades.   * Primer - Pixi by Petra Flawless & Poreless Primer  - I don't usually use primers as I've never really met one which does a job so well that I mind having an extra layer on my face for. But because I've pulled out the Nars foundation to use this week, I'm thinking that I'm really going to need something to smooth the way! This is part of my 20/20 vision project, but I hardly reach for it. * Foundation - Nars Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation - My most expensive foundation but one that I hardly reach for. This was a big disappointment in terms of delivery - it needs a lot of work to make it sit well, and I don't think that many people want t...