superdrug's vitamin E hot cloth cleanser

vitamin E hot cloth cleanser - £4.99

I've been so busy lately and I'm also saving up for my holiday in August so I haven't really allowed myself to splurge on beauty items (which has been very difficult)! One morning whilst rushing around getting ready for work I'd realised my beloved Liz Earle cleanse & polish hot cloth cleanser had come to an end. I'd heard a few reviews on Superdrug's take of the hot cloth cleanser and thought I'd pick it up on a whim. 

Just like the Liz Earle cleanser, it comes with a muslin cloth and has the exact same concept. It's scented and it reminds me of being on holiday! It smells like suncream a bit with a hint of coconut?! I personally don't mind the smell, I actually enjoy it, I have quite sensitive skin and the smells hasn't upset  it or made my skin angry. I will say it doesn't lift make up off as well as the Liz Earle cleanser, but I double cleanse anyway - I take my make up off with a micellar water and then cleanse throughly with this for a deeper clean. It leaves my skin feeling soft, and since using this I actually think my face looks brighter and clearer! In the two weeks I've used this, I've noticed more of a difference than when I did using the Liz Earle one for 4 months. For 200ml of this product it's only £4.99, for 200ml of Liz Earle's cleanser you're looking at spending a hefty £24.75. I love saving money and still having a good quality skincare product, so I'll be sticking to this cleanser from now on! Have you tried this? What did you think?

an Estée Lauder haul

A few weeks ago I headed over to my local Boots and decided to treat myself (the free gift offer may not be valid anymore, sorry!) I've been lusting after these items for a while, here's what I picked up!

Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent - £45

I fell in love with this scent the first time I smelt it a while back. Bronze Goddess is a limited edition fragrance by Estée Lauder released in summer time. Imagine capturing your favourite holidays in a bottle. Every time I spray this perfume I'm suddenly taken back to laying on a beach in the scorching sun drinking a cocktail (or two). With top notes of sweet tangerine and provencal lavender flowers this scent is guaranteed to make you feel like you're on holiday even if you haven't booked one this year!

Double wear foundation - £28.50

After months of deciding what foundation to try out next, I went for the notoriously popular and much loved double wear. I love a good coverage foundation as I'm not 100% confident with a sheer tint on my skin. I defiantly feel like me with a heavy coverage foundation and it's something that I personally really like. It's not thick or heavy and my skin doesn't feel/look cakey. It's oil free too which means I can get away with not powdering or touching up my make up during the day. The best thing of all? This bad boy stays put! Basically, it does what it says on the.. uhmm.. tin and I love it. This is my everyday foundation at the moment, I work it onto my skin with my Real Techniques buffing brush.

If you bought two items from the Estée Lauder counter at Boots you received a very generous free gift! I was totally unaware of this so it was defiantly a lovely surprise! My goodies came in a beautiful make up bag which I'm currently using at the moment, it's such a good quality make up bag, big enough for all my everyday make up. The little eyeshadow palette is adorable and has a good mix of neutrals and colour. I've been wearing the mascara everyday since I bought it, and the lipstick is gorgeous, such a pretty pink shade that is so moisturising, I've gotten quite a few compliments when wearing it. I was really excited to see that the Advanced Night Repair serum and eye cream was thrown in too! I've wanted to try some Estée Lauder skincare out for a while now, I'll be taking those and the tub of DayWear on holiday with me this year! They're the perfect size and I've heard DayWear SPF 15 creme is a must when on holiday! So thank you Estée Lauder, I'm a very happy girl with all of my purchases and will be returning to the Boots counter again as the customer service by the lovely lady (sorry I forgot to get her name) was the cherry on top.

la roche-posay effaclar k review

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K - £13.00

I finally felt like I had my skin under control thanks to my Liz Earle skincare regime, but something was still missing. I suffer from an extremely oily t-zone and I have very spot prone skin. When I was younger I suffered with mild acne so a few spots on my complexion can really knock my confidence. After breaking out pretty badly on my chin and forehead area I decided to purchase effaclar K after hearing so much about it on the blogsphere. And boy... I'm glad I did.

This tube of goodness is described as ''a daily renewal fluid that gradually exfoliates the skin texture to reduce pores and regain a smooth and clear complexion.''

To give you guys the best possible review of this product I kept a little seven day diary. 

Day 1: I applied it straight after my moisturiser last night and woke up this morning and my spots on my chin that i've had for a while have reduced and look less red and angry.

Day 2: My spots and blemishes are slowly but surely reducing in size.

Day 3: My skin looks a lot more radiant in the morning and my skin tone appears to be more even.

Day 4: No new spots have appeared.

Day 5: My t-zone seems a lot less oily. I find myself having to powder my face through the day less and less.

Day 6: The spots I had have now all gone and there seems to be no signs of any new ones.

Day 7: My skin tone is more even, skin looks clearer and my t-zone is less oily than it used to be.

I think a lot of people mistake this as a moisturiser, it's not. Think of it as more of a treatment, hence the tube nozzle, to be applied directly to problem areas. I use this after my moisturiser, every morning and evening to where my skin needs a little TLC. For £13.00 this small investment in my skincare has helped out my skin a lot and can see myself repurchasing this again when I run out. Have you tried the effaclar K or any other la roche-posay products?

My week in photos #3

saw the hangover III at the cinema - ginger pimms - drinks by birmingham canal - selfie - some benefit goodies - layering scents - new skincare - the best nachos at bodega - tiny kitty!

BENEFIT'S THE RICH IS BACK LAUNCH - EXCLUSIVE TO DEBENHAMS

The Rich is Back Makeup Kit - £26.50

Thanks to Gemma and the lovely Wendy at the Debenham's Benefit counter, a selected few of us got to hear about Benefit's new and exclusive collaboration with Matthew Williamson. Incase you're unfamiliar with Matthew Williamson, he's a fashion designer who has his own collection at Debenhams . Think bold, eccentric and brightly colourful. He has bought out this wonderful palette, exclusive only at Debenhams. Retailing at £26.50 this little kit will take you back to the days of disco and glamour, it's all about ''flashy eyes, a foxy flush and ruby lips''.

The four shimmer eyeshadows are the real star of the show for me. The colours work so well together and can be used to create a different look each time. I especially love the teal colour, I don't usually wear a strong colour on my eyes but even I would wear the beautiful teal and gold on a day-to-day basis. The ''gimme fever'' cheek powder also is a beautiful shade and suited all of the girls when applied by the fabulous girls at the Benefit counter. This kit also comes with a mini ''they're real'' mascara and lipgloss in ''inferno'' to help achieve the full look.

As if the lovely ladies at Benefit didn't do enough for us, they also gave each and every one of us a goodie bag with some generous samples to try out. I thought this was such a lovely touch and the ladies had already given us so much of their time, I wasn't expecting anything else. Wendy was so lovely, ensuring all of us were relaxed yet still having a fun time and after just finishing work, the event was the perfect little pick-me-up I needed. 

BENEFIT'S WORLD FAMOUS NEUTRALS PALETTE

World Famous Neutrals Kit Easiest Nudes Ever - £23.50

I love benefit cosmetics, their products are still fairly new to me but one thing I always find myself lusting after are the beautifully packaged mini sets they do. I have the Cabana Glama kit and I adore how compact it is and for the price you get to try a selection of products which, I think is a great idea if you don't want to splurge on the full size items straight away.

r.s.vp as a base, pinky swear all over lid, call my bluff on brow bone.

no pressure! as a base, thanks a latte all over lid, quick look busy in crease & outer corner

This palette promises to help achieve the easiest nudes ever, it comes with two of benefit's creaseless cream eyeshadows in ''r.s.vp'' which reminds me of Chanel's Emerveille and ''no pressure!'' described as a ''rich fawn'' colour. Both have a mousse-like consistency that smooths over the lid effortlessly and blends very easily. This product can be worn as a base for the eye, on it's own for a simple wash of colour or can even be used as an eyeliner. Also in the kit are four of benefit's longwear power shadow. ''Call my bluff'' and ''pinky swear'' make great highlight colours and also look lovely all over the lid. ''Thanks a latte'' and ''quick look busy'' are the darker colours and are more pigmented too. I love wearing ''thanks a latte'' all over the lid and blending ''quick look busy'' into the crease, it gives such a natural looking smokey eye but is still so pretty. I do have to agree with benefit, this kit really does make it easier, everything is in one palette, the products are versatile and the colours just glide on and blend perfectly. I'm really impressed with the quality of this kit and can't wait to get my hands on some more goodies from benefit!

Have you tried any of the benefit's world famous neutrals palettes? Is there anything from benefit you'd recommend?

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS #2

channeling my inner willy wonka - the great gatsby is one of the most beautiful, romantic and heart wrenching films i've seen - new favourite perfume - healthy lunchin' at work - coziness is key - cheesy birthday cards - birthday celebrations - outdoor birthday picnic - my birthday night out make up

I'M BACK

Sorry for being MIA the past few weeks, I've been super busy and haven't really had chance to blog, I've also had writer's block with a side order of down-in-the-dumps. I'm back now though and I'm looking forward to getting into blogging again! Let's start our catch up session with how beautiful Geertruidenberg is...

(coincidence? i think not!, the streets were like something from disneyland, tourist, being immature at a grocery store, bought the essentials, beautiful antiques, photo opportunity)

It was the perfect little city break I needed and I hope to go back to either Holland or the Netherlands next summer! Have you been to Geertruidenberg? Do you have any plans to go on holiday this year?

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL MAKE UP BAG?

If you follow me on twitter you'll probably know i'm off to Holland for a couple of days. I leave on friday and for me, one of the most stressful things about travelling is choosing what make up to bring! I have so many every day essentials so it can be difficult to decide what will be most useful whilst i'm away. After hours of huffing and puffing, packing and repacking, i've come to a happy conclusion and thought i'd share with you what i'm bringing! 

The foundations:

I've chosen my foundations for the trip very carefully. I want something light, moisturising and natural looking which is exactly what illasmasqua skin base and MAC face and body does! However on the evenings I like to have a bit more coverage and want my face to be a bit more dolled up! Both of these foundations are brilliant for providing a natural, light base but don't be fooled, these bad boys are build able and they're my secret weapon. you can layer these foundations to build up maximum coverage without it looking cakey or heavy. Perfect for travelling. 

Concealer/powders:

The only concealer i'm taking is my trusty MAC studio finish, it covers everything from under eye circles to blemishes plus it's tiny and won't take up much room! To set my under eye concealer i'm using ben nye banana powder (made famous when kim kardashian's make up artist let slip it's the secret to her incredible highlighting) which transforms my face, it just really enhances the highlighted areas and keeps everything matte. I'll also be taking my MAC MSF natural which can be buffed into the skin with a buffing brush and used as a foundation or simply to set the foundation you're already wearing. 

Eyebrows:

I'll be using a spoolie to comb my brows and then filling them in with the real techniques brow brush and using urban decay naked eyeshadow if i want a light brow, or MAC's charcoal brown if i want a darker, defined brow.

Highlighter/Blush:

MAC's cream colour base in pearl is my favourite highlighter at the moment. I blend it onto the top of my cheekbone with my ring finger and it just finishes the face, giving a natural, dewy highlight. I'm taking NARS orgasm blush as it's a lovely summery colour and really gives a nice flush colour to my face.

Lips:

I'll use lush's bubblegum lip scrub to exfoliate my lips and use carmex (not pictured) to moisturise. The colours i'm taking are lush lipstick in power, chanel levres scintillantes glossimer in 196, MAC's saigon summer lipstick and angel.

If you want to know what mascara i'm taking then read my last post, I didn't photograph the brushes i'll be taking as i'm currently deep cleaning them! See you when I'm back! x

MAYBELLINE GREAT LASH MASCARA

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Blackest Black - £4.99

I bought this mascara on a whim on a recent shopping trip the other day. I haven't bought a new mascara in months and thought I'd pick one up. After spending a good ten minutes confused and dazed at all the drug store mascaras, I picked up Maybelline's great lash in blackest black. I think the bright green and pink packaging won me over. I'm a sucker for packaging. The product itself promises to ''create perfectly defined lashes with a clean, separate finish. A lash building brush for fuller and longer lashes with no clumps or globs.''

When I applied it for the first time I was pleasantly surprised. The small and delicate brush makes application very easy, I was able to reach lashes on my inner corner with ease, which really helped open my eyes up and make my eyes look brighter and bigger! I really love the way this mascara separates and elongates the eyelashes rather than sticking them together with huge clumps. The mascara is a true black with a matte finish. The staying power is pretty amazing, lasting a good eight hours plus. I didn't really notice any major smudging, bearing in mind this mascara isn't waterproof. The thing I love most about this product though, is how build-able it is. The picture of the close up of my eye is two coats. Two coats of mascara can usually clump together and look too much but I find this mascara builds up volume and length in the most natural looking way possible. If you're looking for a mascara that is pigmented, volumising, lengthening and non clumpy and under five pounds - then this is it! Have you tried this mascara out? What's your holy grail mascara?