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?

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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? 

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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?

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MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows

With Christmas being everywhere and the Halloween holidays this week (heck the clocks have even went back) I thought it was time for me to start thinking (not buying, thinking) about what I should buy my friends and family as presents. There's always so much choice and its hard to pick out what they would absolutely love, I've even taken to Polyvore to create ideas - something I still haven't got to grips with yet! One of my friends is MAC obsessed (though who isn't?) and I thought this eyeshadow was a cute little something something for a stocking filler. 

This is the MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Quad in Golden Hours and as soon as I saw it I knew my friend would love it, any makeup that's neutral and perfect for daily use is just her cup of tea - so you can see why four nude eyeshadows and MAC ones at that seemed ideal as a pressie. Now I did buy this online so I expected it to be slightly larger than what it is but nevertheless its still a lovely product!

As I said theres 4 nude shades, one cream, one orange-y toned, a lighter brown and a darker brown eyeshadow and depending on how you feel you can have a simple wash of colour throughout the day and a darker brown smokey eye at night - all without having to bring half of your makeup collection (maybe thats just me) and its ever so handy to pop in the makeup bag. Upon first swatch these eyeshadows are super pigmented with a slight shimmer and although I'm not the biggest shimmer fan they're gorgeous! I'm even tempted to buy myself one....

These mineralize eyeshadow quads were originally a part of the Fantasy of Flowers Collection released earlier this year but when the collection was released I didn't pay any attention to the eyeshadows and they received barely any hype when they deserve it. I always find in MAC collections the lipsticks and blushes get all the loving (and I'm guilty of it too). This quad in the newer MAC packaging and I'm not sure whether I love it or miss the older version, I know a lot of bloggers prefer the newer version as you can see the product that you're reaching for - who knows maybe it'll grow on me. All in all, its a lovely product and I can't wait to see my friends reaction when she unwraps it :) I always want to apologize (as a side note) for my blogging being a bit awol this month but Novembers going to be much better, promise!

  Thanks for reading, Jenny xo
P.S Have you given any thought towards Christmas presents yet? Or let me know what MAC eyeshadows you can't live without?

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