Review: Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

A goooooooooooooood few weeks ago now myself and M went along to a Clarins event at Central Pharmacy in Cardiff.

We met up with the lovely Charli from Charli Dot Dot Dot and Cariad from Cariadity and had a great night playing with the Clarins products, having make overs and hand massages as well as some lovely nibbles and drinks.

As Clarins are a well known brand for their skin care I couldn't help but talk to them about my then troubled skin.

They suggested I try the Lotus Face Treatment Oil, which although is an oil is aimed at troubled and problematic skin...perfect for me!

If you remember I had been using Skinetica to get rid of my spots but it did not help much with the scarring.

After getting over my initial reluctance to use an oil on my skin I got well into applying 2/3 drops of this in the morning and the same again at night.

As you can see it contains Rosemary and Geranium to balance oil and purify skin, and Lotus extract to refine the skin.

This oil has been great for me.

I love the bottle and the fact you only need a tiny amount, I'm barely down to the bottom of the Clarins word  after 2/3 months of use.

The oil is also quite a dry oil considering how liquid it is, it sinks into the skin quite quickly and even though I apply it in the morning before a day of work it doesn't leave my skin oily and shiny for the day.

The dropper is really easily controlled as well so you can judge how much you need really easily.

As for the results my skin has felt so much more hydrated and my skin has become more even in tone.

It has definitely helped with the scarring though unfortunately I don't have any pictures to prove it!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone struggling with oily skin and blemishes, anyone with scarring and also anyone with combination skin as it hasn't caused me to break out but my skin is hydrated.

This was a random purchase but I'm pretty sure it was a good one!

Have you used anything from Clarins skin care before? I would definitely consider purchasing more, let me know what you'd recommend!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Me and M were lucky enough to win tickets to London Fashion Week, so we will be in London all weekend.

Let us know if any of you will be around, and I'm sure there will be a post to come on it soon.

We're so excited!!

L xxx

Spending Ban Update (6)

Hello.. Today's post should be an update on my ban where I moan that not spending is hard and tell you about my wish list, how it's growing etc. If you've seen some of my tweets from earlier this week you will see that I had the most ridiculous relapse back into spending and bought quite a few items from the Cosmetics Company Outlet (CCO) in Swindon's McArthur Glen. Basically this is what happened:

I went a little bit spend crazy in one shop and just couldn't resist some of the bargains that were available.

I know I should have resisted....but this week I successfully paid off and cancelled a £500 portion of my overdraft and just couldn't stop myself.

I did feel guilty afterwards and for now I am back on the non spending wagon because I'd like to continue paying my overdraft off at the same rate (though this may be a little optimistic!)

Even so....here are my purchases closer up if you need a little product porn:

Make A Difference skincare set.

I've been using the moisturiser recently and couldn't resist picking this up too.

This mascara was on sale for £7!

This is a beautiful pinky red that is really hydrating and so gives a high shine look, cannot wait to use it!

My first ever Smashbox purchases came in the form of their Arced Liner Brush #21.....

....Jet Set Waterproof Eye liner in Midnight Black.....

.....Beeeeeautiful Fusion Soft Lights in Baked Starburst.....

.......and their Smoke Box Eye Shadow Palette.

(I imagine all will feature in upcoming posts)

Completely unnecessary but 100% totally worth it for the smile and feeling I've been possessing over the past few days.

I think it's even more of a high after being cold turkey for so long, though I have made better judgements on what I need and don't need.

I would have purchased so much in between Christmas and now if I hadn't have been on a ban!

Let's get back to it though eh?

What do you think of my purchases? What would you like to see in a post first?

L xxx

FOTD Red Toned Smokey Eye

So who over indulgded in pancakes last night? Until last year I was never a fan. Then I started making pancakes american style!!! MMMMMmmm so much better. I'm planning to have my pancake day next week. What's your best topping?

Anyway on to today's post. I've decided to do another step by step FOTD. You can see my first one here. That one was my go to every day make up. A few people said they preferred the step by step way so here is another post.

Here are the products I used.

I started by applying a base of  Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer (here £11.99) mixed with Stila One Step Correct Primer (here £24). I love the combination of both of these and regularly mix products. Especially foundation. When I want a flawless finish I always grab my Revlon ColorStay Foundation (here £12.99). I find this foundation perfect. It applies well doesn't look cakey and really lasts. I use my Real Techniques Expert Face brush (here £9.99). This is by far my favourite foundation brush. It's soft but dense.

To conceal under my eyes and my spots using Benefit Erase paste (here £19.50). I love this concealer. It's thick, covers everything, lasts but doesn't settle. To set my make up I'm absolutely love the Natural Collection Loose Powder (here £1.99). I love this powder. It's really soft, fine and looks natural on the face. I use my Real Techniques Setting Brush (here £8.99) for under the eyes and around the nose. I find using a smaller brush makes such a difference to how my make up looks by the end of the day. Then I use the Real Techniques Powder Brush (here £12.99). I love how soft and big this brush is.

On my brows I used my Benefit Browzings (here £22.50) I really like this but even though it's the light shade I do find it a bit dark some days. I'd love to find a product with a lighter coloured wax.

On the lids I used my mini Urban Decay Primer Potion (here full size £15.50). I do like this but I feel like there are other ones just as good for a lot cheaper so I'm just trying to use it up. I've been waiting ages to try out my Illamasqua Pure Pigment in the Shade Fervent (here £15.50) I love this shade. It's the first pigment I own. It's red/brown in some lights with a green/turquoise shimmer running though. I'm impressed with how these apply. Not at all messy as I expected. I really want more now. How do the Barry M dazzle dusts compare? Have you tried either?

I blended Mac Cranberry Eye shadow (here £12) I seriously love this eye shadow. I never thought I'd use a red eye shadow so much but I actually use this most days. It's surprisingly wearable. This was my first mac eye shadow and now I want more. I'm turning into such a brand girl. Believe it or not until last march I didn't own a high end make up item. L changed all that for me!

To smoke it out a bit more I applied Blackout  from my Naked 2 Palette (here £36). This is a perfect Matte Black, Natural Collection have a really good matte black shade too. I'm so excited to see MUA bringing out a version of this palettes. I will definitely be picking that up once the spending ban is over. I applied it the outer third of my eye and blended it. I also applied it under the eye.

To finish the eyes I applied a slick of black gel liner. Of course the Maybelline one (here £7.99) This is the best gel liner in my opinion. It's so smooth and lasts amazing. Mines getting low so I'm trying to use up normal eye liners and save it for when I'm going out. Stick eye liners just don't compare. I can't wait till the spending ban is over to pick up the other black shades of this. Especially the purple. I added 2 coats of  Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara (here £21) I really do love this mascara but I don't honestly know if it's worth the extra £13 over my beloved Maybelline Colossal Volume.

I won a twitter competition before with Bourjois and was lucky enough to win some of there lashes. These are the Faux & Fabulous Lady in Black (here £7.99)

I've never used a half lash before. I love how these add subtle volume to the outer corner. I was worried you'd really be able to tell but they nicely thickened the outer lashes. I'll be picking up more half lashes to try. They also have black crystals on so are great for special occasions.

For cheeks I used my favourite duo Benefit Dandelion (here £23.50) and Liz Earle Healthy Glow Bronzer (here £19.50). I have reviewed both of these recently so won't say much about them. If you missed those posts you can read them again on this link.

I finished with Mac Angel Lipstick (here £14) with a smokey eye this is a perfect pinkey nude lip. It's subtle but still looks done. I feel strange without a lipstick now.

I really love a red smokey eye. I think it's a little different to the normal grey's and blacks. I want to try more colours from my collection and smoke them out. I want to get back to being brace with eyeshadow.

I really like the lashes on. I can't wait for a night out so I can wear this. 

Wow long post. Hope you liked it. I included links and prices to all the products this time. Let me know if you prefer posts to have links to all the products. I'd love to know what you think of posts like this as I'm enjoying doing make up looks but they make for long reading.

I love playing with my make up, I need to do it more and experiment. What's your favourite eye look for a night out? Do you stick with what you know? I think I need to buy a big palette after the spending ban.

Love M

xxx

Review: Real Techniques Setting Brush

For Christmas I asked for quite a few of the Real Techniques brushes. As they were on 3 for 2 I found 5 I wanted and couldn't decide on the 6th to make the most of the deal. I saw the setting brush and thought I'd try it.

The setting brush has a pink handle as it's classed as one of the finishing brushes. I love that Real Techniques brushes are colour coded. As this is one of the smaller brushes it doesn't stand on it's own as well as the others.

As with all of the Real Techniques brushes I've tried so far this brush is super soft. It washes amazingly and feels as soft after and it doesn't shed hairs. There is nothing more annoying than finishing your make up and being left with black bristles on your face. The brush is 100% cruetly free. Another big plus for Real Techniques, nobody wants animals to suffer! The synthetic bristles are hand cut. The tips are white and super soft, similar to the foundation brushes.

Here it is next to the stipling brush for size comparison. This brush can be used for a variety of different things. It's the perfect size for blending highlighter or using with powdered highlighters. I use it for setting my concealer.

I know this may seem like a pointless brush when you have a powder brush but my under eyes stay perfect all day when I use this. I use this to set my erase paste ( review here). This allows the powder to be applied so finely and perfectly sets my concealer. It leaves my make up looking so much more flawless. 

This was a brush I never thought I'd need but now couldn't be without. Do you have brushes like this? Would you ever think to use a smaller brush for your powder? I certainly didn't.

I really love all the Real Techniques brushes. They are such good quality and can be found in most Boots stores regularly on offer. The setting brush can be picked up for £8.99.

Love M

 xxx