Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream

Hey all

Hope you had a great weekend! My weekend was spent with lots of rugby, drinking, catch ups and gossips and ended with game of thrones marathon! A pretty good one.

Today I wanted to share a product review on a product I've loved for a while and just haven't gotten around to posting. I first tried this BB in a she said beauty box ages ago and loved it straight away. Being someone with oily skin I've not found many high street ones which really agreed with my skin and gave me the coverage I felt comfortable with.

Ginvera originated in Singapore and has spread through Asia as well as Europe and America now. Some of the best BB creams originated in Asia and I couldn't wait to try one of the originals as the one's from the western market hadn't lived up to my expectations. BB creams, beauty balms or blemish balms claim to be light on the skin while given better coverage than tinted moisturiser.

A product that claims to suit all skin tones always concerns me. I'm naturally super pale with freckly skin and find products that claim to be suitable for all skin tones have to much of an orange tone to them. I was really surprised to try this and find it was too dark on my hand but does blend out for a perfect match. I like that it is a squeezy bottle so the right amount can be easily dispensed.

I love that it has a high SPF as lighter foundation is something I want in the summer and the fact this gives the protection to is great. It claims to be non greasy, even skin tone, moisturise and brighten. That's a lot of promise from one product!

Ginvera BB does have a slight grey tone to it. But for me I think this helps it work as a product to suit multiple skin tones as it doesn't have the dreaded orange tint. I did worry it would make my skin look dull.

Natural Skin

Just Ginvera BB Cream

As you can see from the photos it really covers up redness, evens skin tone and has the natural matte finish. It has even done a pretty good job at neutralising some pretty bad spots! It leaves my skin looking healthy and not like a mask. I like that some of my freckles can still be seen.

As someone with oily skin I do use a powder but I always do. With a powder it lasts me all day!

This is my go to foundation now for lazy days as it's easily applied and blends out perfectly with the fingers. It leaves me skin feeling so light! No other BB creams have come near for me.

Have you tried Ginvera or other BB creams?

Love M

xxx

Urban Decay B6 Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray

Morning! 

Hope you're all not suffering too much after a night out, fingers crossed the weather won't be too bad today either!

A few weeks ago we attended a product showcase for Urban Decay and you can see our post on it here.

We were totally overwhelmed when we were given a goodie bag with the following contents:

So many things I've been lusting after for so long and I am eternally thankful for the chance to review it all!

We'd both heard a lot about the B6 Prep Spray and having used it at the product showcase we both knew how much we wanted it. It was such a fine mist and cooling on the skin leaving it feeling revived.

The B6 Spray contains the first stabilised form of Vitamin B6 which absorbs oil, minimises pores and reduces redness. It also contains Vitamin E providing anitoxidants and also willow bark which is rich in salicylic acid to help cell turnover.
There were many studies carried out on this spray which found that 81% had a measurable reduction in oil and shine, 78% had more radiant skin with fewer blemishes and redness and most had a measurable reduction in pore size.

The directions involve spraying directly onto clean skin before moisturiser, any time to refresh skin throughout the day and also at night before any treatment. Spray onto your skin from 8-10 inches away several times for the full effect.

The spray feels cooling on your skin and I genuinely enjoy applying it. As someone who isn't especially a toner or thermal water etc an I wasn't sure I'd like it at first but I can honestly say it lives on my bed side table now. It does feel cooling and I do think my skin has improved after using it though I cannot specifically say how. It's odd but my skin is less red and my pores have improved in appearance.

I enjoy applying this although I do think that the mist is a little too generous sometimes. I find there's a lot of fallout onto whatever I am wearing at the time of application which is a shame as I tend to think of this as gold dust now!

The Prep Spray can be purchased for £21.50 which I think considering the rate I've been using it and the amount that's left is a pretty good price! Especially when bought at Debenhams....cannot forget to collect those Beauty Card points ladies!

What do you think of Prep Sprays? Will you be testing this one out?

L xxx

Hey all

I'm the opposite of L and I absolutely love toners and facial sprays. I love the refreshing feel of them and as someone with oily skin I really feel they make a difference.

The day we got our goodie bags I was very ill (suffering from the worlds worst hangover!) so my skin was suffering and I was very dehydrated. As soon as I got home I was spraying this on my face!

I love the packaging. It's almost got a slightly rubberised feel to it and the nozzle sprays the finest mist meaning it can be applied over make up when the skin needs a pick me up without ruining the foundation. As L said I do need to be careful that it's aimed just at the centre of the face though as the mist is so fine is does go everywhere otherwise.

After a few too many nights out, bad meals and sleeping in make up twice a week my skin is understandably not behaving at the moment so I've been switching up my skincare and this has been a very welcome new addition.

Using this in conjunction with a new toner has helped reduce the amount of spots I have, improve my oily skin and the redness left over from spots seems to heal quickly. I tend to use it morning and night and if I'm going out after work I spritz it on then for a little face pick me up!

I can see this fast becoming a skin care staple. I think the price point is reasonable and is around the price of the setting sprays (which I absolutely love!). You do get a lot of product and I can see it lasting ages.

If you're having problem skin or just want it to be a bit brighter I'd really recommend it! Plus it's currently triple points at Debenhams!

Love M

xxx

Life Update

Happy Saturday morning to you all!

I would be ridiculously glad that its the weekend...but instead I have to work Saturday this week as well so I've decided to flash a few photos of my life over the last few weeks instead of a beauty post.

First up? This beauty. Apologies for the shadowed photo, lighting isn't my priority when dealing with my fave LKB and I was so excited that my mum had bought me this!
One of my Christmas presents had to go back as it didn't fit me so instead she bought me this beautiful black patent make up bag. I was very impressed with the quality and how beautiful and shiny it was anyway, (magpie anyone?) but it even came in a dust bag! I've never owned anything posh enough to warrant a dust bag before. Day. Made.

Next up is this beauty, a snap I took whilst stuck in my car on the way to work. What should have been a 45 minute journey ended up taking me 3.5 hours and I even missed a meeting at work...oops.

Nice to see some snow in amongst all the endless rain though!



Me and M had a lush night out the other week with a uni friend who came down for the rugby and then we went out afterwards. I wore a black crepe shift dress with leather panels on from M&S Limited Collection that I bought a few years ago. I've only worn it once before when I first bought it as its quite a tight dress due to the fabric and can even be hard to walk in but I decided there's no point it living in my wardrobe all year round!





Here's the three of us all glammed up and ready for the night!

I also picked up these shoes for the night out as my previous VERY trusty pair of shoes (the usual peep toe black shoe boot style) have finally given up with all the wear and tear!
I decided to replace them with these beautiful cut out shoes boots also from New Look which felt quite comfortable initially....they don't rub which is a relief but just general foot ache!



After that I've spent a lot of time eating the last few weeks. Not all that badly ( I do gym 5 times a week to combat it!) but nevertheless there has been a lot of food. For example:

 

Afternoon tea with M at a spa day we went to, not over the top amount of cakes and some decent sandwiches, yum.

The second picture shows my mums homemade 'sticky chicken' which is 1 or 2 syns on slimming world and honestly makes every problem go away. I promise to write a post about this in future as to be perfectly honest everyone needs this recipe in their lives! Perfect for chicken and salmon, for lunch or tea, for yourself or for a meal with friends its just AMAZING.




Another meal with M was at Nando's. M can get discount and so we often get the platter with the chicken and 2 sides with 2 drinks for a really good price. We do tend to stuff ourselves and however much we want to get salad we always end up getting chips to share too! Oh well.



Aside from all the amazing food I've been trying to get back into the gym. Although i go regularly my running has been suffering considerably because of the weather and persistent traffic I keep getting stuck in. I'm trying to keep it up on weekends but now I've lost my running partner to a dodgy ankle I'm flagging a bit!

I think a few quiet weeks with workouts, good food and a few good books are what I need to recover myself and my bank balance.

I've been having a hard time at work lately and sometimes find it hard to think about anything other than that and my constant lack of money. but I'm trying to be more positive about things and quotes like this one (from my beloved HP!) can help to put a smile on my face.

What have you been up to lately? Do you like my dress that I wore out?
How have you been coping with the awful weather we've been having?

L xxx

Fitness Fridays: Smoothies!

Good afternoon lovelies!

A few weeks ago I posted about the Hip and Healthy box from Latest in Beauty which is now sadly sold out (though not surprising!). It was a lovely box  and contained not only a few beauty products but also some healthy snacks including granola, Bounce ball and a few powdered sachets.

It was the powdered sachets and the coconut water that inspired me to make my own smoothie. I rarely get to make them at the moment due to work and such a busy lifestyle at weekends but I do love getting a pile of fruit and yogurt and whizzing it all up; its such a tasty and easy way to get towards your 5 a day.

On a recent week off I got stuck into the Hip and Healthy box and decided to make myself a smoothie with the ingredients.

First of all I put the blueberries and a banana into the blender cup. I never measure these things, its always a few handfuls of this and that. If you make it too thick you can always add in some extra water or almond milk to thin it back out and if it's too thin you can add some oats to thicken it back up. 

I just find it so much more fun to throw it all in and see what happens!

Next up I added the powders. The Organic Super Blends powder that I received was an Omega 3 one, great for your heart and blood system as well brain function.

There are lots of other blends available from their website and you should check them out!

I love that the sachets stated exactly what was inside; only 6 ingredients and free from so many things!
This would be a great addition to your smoothies or cereal every day as your body can only get essential fatty acids like Omega 3 from your diet as it can't product them itself.

The second powder in the box was Aduna's Baobab, a powder made from the Baobab fruit which is super rich in fibre, antioxidants and vitamins great for your metabolism, immune system and fatigue.

After adding these I poured in some of the coconut water and whizzed away!

I've got a handheld blender; the one below is my mum's Braun one which just has one speed but i also have my own which has 2. Both of them are quite old so I wouldn't be surprised if there are some on the market with all the gadgets on! But these have been great and we use them regularly for soups and all sorts.

And low and behold one super easy, healthy, vitamin packed and low calorie smoothie.

I believe this comes in at less than 200 calories as I'm unsure of the calorie content of the powders so I rounded up. It's a great snack in the morning to keep you going until lunch or a breakfast if you can stomach a liquid one! I couldn't survive on a smoothie as its 5 hours from breakfast until my break and normally involves me running around, but on weekends I do often have them for breakfast as its a great change.

What do you think of my smoothie? Do you add additional powders for extra health benefits?

What's your favourite smoothie recipe?

L xxx