No7 Skincare

As you may have guessed from my recent posts (I say recent, it was probably a week ago), I'm on a reviewing craze at the minute, I like to mix up my posts normally so they aren't too boring or same-y .... thats definitely not a word but recently I've found a lot of products that I've loved and wanted to share with you all - the phase will probably stop, soon but in the meantime enjoy!   

I also mentioned that skincare posts are going to frequent more on my blog and so this skincare product and review duo are perfect. I've always wanted to try the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanse & Polish but I could never get my hands on it, luckily my local Boots now has a stand (thank goodness) so with a No7 voucher in hand I opted for the next best thing. I decided to buy No7's hot cloth cleanser in the travelling size just to see if I liked it and it worked, plus I can't get over how cute it looks.

This cleanser comes in really handy when I'm feeling lazy or my skin needs revitalizing, I simply apply the cleanser in circular motions with my fingers, then use the provided muslin cloth over my face to open my pores and then simply wash off (or polish it off) with the same cloth. It sounds like a lot but honestly it takes two seconds and it leaves your skin feeling fresh and lovely. This is definitely one of my shorter reviews but honestly I can't rave about it enough, its a great skincare product - not one that I would use daily because that would be a waste but every so often I'll just pop it on.

Another great thing about this is that its suitable for all skin types, No7 usually have ranges within their skincare products aimed at specific skin types but that isn't the case with this so practically anyone can use it. Its a great size for taking on the go as well and I can't wait to repurchase this when its finished, I might find it in some of the No7 Christmas sets too, I'll have to keep an eye out. Hope that helped a little, I'm still a proper skincare routine newbie but I'm getting there!

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo
P.s have you tried any other hot cloth cleansers? I'm dying to try Liz Earle

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

Urban Decay: All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

After posting my 'blogging update' post at the start of the month I sadly haven't posted as much as I promised, all my excuses can be found here (link) but I haven't even had a minute to watch xfactor and thats serious business. I feel like a workaholic, kudos to anyone who has a proper full time job and blogs on the side, it takes some serious organisation! I'll stop before I really ramble, todays post is all about the Urban Decay all nighter makeup setting spray, an absolute life saviour in a bottle. 

My typical Saturday as of late is to wake up around 8 to get ready for the day (including doing my makeup) and leaving the house for work and then travelling to my other work, usually I don't get home until after 10 at night so you can see why I need long lasting makeup on my face. Although MAC and Estee Lauders foundation do the trick (in lasting terms), I can't justify using them all the time because they're blooming expensive (well compared to drugstore) and I like to save them for more special occasions. 

The all nighter spray is you might have guessed by the name is ideal for nights out when you want your makeup to remain on your face but I've found it comes in handy for day to day use too. I purchased this via Cohorted a few months back - an absolute gem of a website for beauty lovers, definitely check it out! I'd been eyeing up the full size spray for ages but I couldn't justify the price tag but then this travel size appeared and it sounded perfect. Its usually priced around £9 but I managed to get it for £6, an absolute bargain and next time its on the Cohorted website I'm definitely going to stock up!

Its so simple to use, I simply apply it after my foundation and powder, now it does take a bit of getting used to, at first I thought with my eyes shut I'd miss my face but that was all just in my head. My makeup stays in place so much longer and has a sort of fresh glow to it, something that comes in handy for someone who usually forgets to apply primer (beauty sin, I know!), its also oil free so its suitable for all skin types and when this is finished I'll definitely be re-purchasing.

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo 

P.s have you tried any of the urban decay sprays, what do you think? 

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

The Body Shops Tea Tree Facial Wash

This weeks been a bit of a tough one for me and usually with tough weeks and stress comes the odd breakout or two but luckily this time around that hasn't happened and I'm pretty sure its because of my new holy grail skincare product... The Body Shops Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash (they couldn't have made a longer name for it if they'd tried) which has helped my spot prone skin so much lately.  

I'm usually not one for skincare reviews, I mean theres the odd one here and there but they're such an important part of our everyday routines and they're just skipped over it seems. I love finding out about new skincare products whilst reading other blogs and seeing what would work for my skin and for that reason I can sense they'll be making more of an appearance on my own blog.  

I've never really used facial washes religiously before as I didn't see any changes in my skin and deemed them a waste of time but not now - maybe I'd been using the wrong facial washes. This facial wash had been sitting in my bathroom for a while now, picked up and forgotten about in a haul and it was only a month or two ago when I was having a really bad skin day I decided to try it and I'm hooked. At first I was a bit wary because some reviews said the tea tree range can be quite drying but upon using it, this isn't the case at all!

The facial wash is a part of the Tea Tree range and aimed primarily at blemished skin or spot prone skin so its suitable for most teenagers and probably young adults too since I'm using it. It also aims to provide an intense daily cleanse in order to remove impurities for clearer looking skin and from what I can see its done just that. My skin has drastically improved over the months I've been using this and apart from the odd spot once in a blue moon (we can't have clear skin 24/7) I feel so much happier having clearer skin and knowing that this product is working. I don't use it daily but every two days to give my skin some variety and I've found less is more when using this product so it lasts for ages. Its also quite a large bottle containing 250ml and for £5 its not exactly breaking the bank, the only downside for some people is that it is scented and the Tea Tree can be a little strong but once you're using it you can't smell it at all, unless you're sniffing the bottle but thats completely different. All in all, I'll definitely be re-purchasing this when it runs out, its wonderful! 

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo 

P.s have you tried the facial wash or anything else from The Body Shop's Tea Tree range?

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

Illamasqua Magnetism VS Rimmel 31

Now as soon as the Autumn months roll around we all jump on the berry lipped bandwagon at every opportunity, the most famous of the lot being MAC Rebel, closely second by the Rimmel Kate Moss 107. Although these are in my collection I was having a little peek around to see if I had any other berry lipsticks & found two others in my collection, Illamasqua Magnetism and Rimmel Lasting Finish in 31. With both of these I hadn't heard a thing about them before purchasing but they're just as lovely and I thought I'd do a bit of a comparison post today, so here we are....

Illamasqua Lipstick in Magnetism

Rimmel Lasting Finish in Shade 31

Magnetism was my first Illamasqua lipstick purchase way back last year in the January sales and it hasn't exactly got its use yet, truth be told I'd forgotten about it and now that I've come across it for this post I'm sure it won't be out of my handbag or off my lips. I really like the Illamasqua packaging, square, sleek & black with the brand along one side and the logo on the lid. It looks sophisticated, no bright pink and glittery packaging nonsense here.

At first glance, the bullet seems like a true berry but upon application its more of a borderline berry/deep pink which is a bit misleading but I've found most berry lipsticks are! The bullet is a nice shape and easy to apply, simply gliding on and isn't drying at all like I first expected and lasted for hours without needing touched up. I would recommend using a lip scrub or a lip balm before application but thats just a precaution I take with every lipstick, it makes all the difference! After this post I'm sort of wondering why I don't have any other Illasmasqua lipsticks! 

The second lipstick is the Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 'shade 31'. Similarly to the Illasmasqua offering this is slightly less berry toned and looks more of a fuschia colour on the lips. This lipstick I've found is a lot creamier than the Illamasqua lipstick upon application and although it's a good thing (it doesn't dry your lips out in the the cold weather), I would prefer knowing my lips aren't going to slip or bleed throughout the day - the perfect solution to this being a berry toned lipliner (well fuschia/berry in this case). I love the packaging of the Rimmel lipsticks, again black with the logo on the top and brand name on the lid but this is more circular rather than square and I don't mind simply chucking it in my handbag whereas with the Illamasqua I'm a little more careful. Again this lipstick is really easy to apply and last for a good few hours (with eating and drinking) before needing checked on and its a lovely addition to my ever growing collection of Rimmel/Kate Moss lipsticks.

All in all both lipsticks are lovely alternative berry choices and for the same amount of product the Rimmel offering is more budget friendly and the Illamasqua lipstick is still reasonably budget friendly, just borderline higher end prices and I would recommend them both for the winter months!

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo    

P.s which of these two colours do you prefer OR do you own either of these lipsticks? 

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

A Blogging Update

It feels like forever since I've sat down & written a post, since I had a lot of pre-planned posts, maybe it's been a month but I have an excuse, October was a crazy & stressful month for me. I spent a lot of time sorting my work, university etc and balancing somewhat of a social life in amongst it all. I think the change in the weather may have also played a part in the lack of blogging, it's so hard to take photos with decent lighting... something I've never had to really deal with before.

berry lips were out in full force // the closest I've got to an ootd post so far // 21st Birthday Celebrations // I may have bought some Christmas nails to get in the season // More celebrations // No trip to Ikea is worth it unless you try their hot chocolate // Ikea show houses are amazing // Festive nails // Halloween Selfies 

Lifestyle posts aren't posted as much as I'd like on this blog but we're all friends here and that'll probably change, I don't think I've written an update post like this before. October was filled with more ups and downs that I can count and blogging just fell by the wayside (completely unintentional of course) but it's a new month and I'm determined to get my normal blogging routine back on track. A main incentive for this is my little blog reached 600 followers on Bloglovin' which I'm still completely shocked about but ever so grateful and I'll be announcing my giveaway sometime soon.

I've also been enjoying catching up with all of my friends that I don't see as often I'd like and celebrating a lot of 21st birthdays too, it seems everyones birthdays are within a month of each other! My iphone also arrived and I've been abusing Instagram like there's no tomorrow so if you want to see my daily posts on there you can do so here (link here). My provisional license arrived too in amongst many shopping parcels from ASOS so I'm eager to start revising for my theory and I'm hoping to pass my actual test by my 21st (fingers crossed).

Another major thing is that I got a new job which I already love, this is a massive thing for me because I always find job interviews so daunting but luckily this wasn't too bad and it'll probably take up a lot of my time in the build up to Christmas. That and my placement which is finally sorted will take a lot of organisation but I'm still making blogging a priority so I can see I'm going to be even more organised than usual. I also got a much needed hair cut and although the hairdresser probably took a couple of inches at most off, its made all the difference!

Halloween was also a major event this month and I think since Thursday I've had about 10 hours sleep all together so an early night is long overdue. I've also been loving Taylor Swift's new album 1989 which was released earlier on in the week and it's been on repeat 24/7, talk about obsession ey. The only other exciting thing is it's 51 days to Christmas and everyone's in the Christmas swing of things, I've already seen my first tree of the year and it's only three days after Halloween which is crazy! Now mine probably won't be up for another few weeks but I'm extremely excited to start my Christmas shopping and mainly just enjoy what's left of the year.    

I know this was a long and rambly post but that's what I do best and I thought it'd be nicer to update you all on what I've been up to rather than just a "I'm sorry I forgot to blog for a month" but from now on I'll be back to normal. Hope you enjoyed reading it :)

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo
P.s what have you been up to through October? do you ever just take blogging breaks?

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram