Confessions of a Beauty Blogger

 

While reading blogs It would be easy to assume the beauty blogger behind the blog is perfect in regards to their makeup, skin care and hair routine.

Well I thought I would do a little post today to show you that in my case any way (and I am sure I am not the only one) this couldn’t be further from the truth

. I am not perfect, no one is and thought it might be nice for my readers to get to know a little bit more about me and my flaws. 

Hopefully you will all still continue to read my blog, after admitting I don’t religiously stick to every beauty rule out there.

1.       Sometimes (just sometimes) if I have had a long day and I feeling lazy before bed, I am very naughty and use a face wipe to remove all my makeup. Not even a nice high end face wipe, we are talking the £1 wipes from Primark! 

 

2.       I hardly ever get my full 8 hours of beauty sleep a night.

 

3.       I am so impatient when it comes to painting my nails. I cant sit still for very long so normally end up smudging, re applying do the same again, have a paddy and take it off. To stop any possible melt downs I tend to go for Shellac nails at my local beauticians.

 

4.       I quite often forget to use heat defence on my hair before blow drying or straightening.

 

5.       I am a little bit clumsy when it comes to tanning,  I manage to get fake tan everywhere. I have ruined so many towels, desperately scrubbed carpets and walls to remove evidence and permanently stained quite a few parts of both my mum’s and my bathroom.

 

6.       Thankfully I have discovered contouring and highlighting, I am no expert but I have definitely moved on from the days of furiously applying bronzer all over my face. Cringe!

 

7.       I still haven’t mastered winged eye liner, I have tried and tried and tried, but failed. No matter what I do one eye always seems different to the other, maybe it’s because I am perfectionist and that 1mm different really does bug me, but I just can't get it right. 

 

8.       I am not very good at relaxing, when I do decide to have a pamper and a bubble bath I can quite often me found applying a bubble beard 5 minutes in.

 

9.       I very rarely curl my lashes, maybe it’s the lash curler I use but I really cant see a difference when I curl them or don’t, maybe I am doing something wrong, or maybe they just don’t work for me, who knows. 

 

10.   Finally, I am dyslexic, I can’t spell very well at all and I rely heavily on spell check and reading my writing numerous times to correct my many mistakes (sometimes I spell so badly the spell checker can’t even try and figure out what I am attempting to write), but no matter how many times I check my work there still seems to be some errors or even whole words missing. So yes some of my post aren’t perfectly written or spelt correctly, but I just try and write naturally and think about how I would talk to a friend and if there is  mistake here and there I am sure it’s not really going to hurt anyone is it? Being dyslexic does put me at big disadvantage as it takes me twice as long to complete any kind of learning or writing task. However, I don’t let it stop me and when I think about it, it actually makes me really proud for starting and writing my blog and not letting dyslexia stop me from doing something I enjoy. 

 

So there you have it that’s me and my imperfections. I would love to hear your beauty confessions, because well nobody’s perfect are they.

 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Once upon a time there was a little product called Bioderma, the beauty world fell in love with this micellar water biased cleanser and its gentle yet effective formula. Then all over the skin care departments different versions of micellar water began popping up everywhere and thus began the battle of the Micellar waters, but who will win? 

I  too have had a good love affair with bioderma, but even though it's now more readily available in the UK it's still not as easy as popping to your nearest Boots (other chemist like shops are available) and it's still rather pricey. 

So when my last bottle of bioderma ran out I thought it was time to test a new product, I had heard nothing but good things about the Garnier micellar water cleanser and for £4.99 for a mahoosive bottle it was too much of a bargain too pass up. 

To cut a long story short, I love this product. I have used it in the morning to clense and last thing at night to remove all my make up. I use two cotton pads and all my make up, including eye make up is removed and leaves my face really clean, soft and smooth, and didn't irritate 

 or cause redness on my super sensitive skin.  

The bottle has a clever flip caps so there is no spillage or waste of product. I recently borrowed some of my friends L'Oreal micellar water and I haven't used it enough to comment on its formula but the flow top meant my cotton pad was literally drowned in the stuff, which is a slight waste. So I think Garnier have defintly got the thumbs up with the packaging. 

Overall I am really impressed with this micellar cleansing water and would defintly repurchase over bioderma, yes that is a strong statement to make. I just think for £4.99 it's much cheaper, you get a lot of product, the forumal is very similar and it does the same job. So I would really recommend this little gem and will be repurchasing. 

I would love to hear your thoughts if you have tried this water cleanser. 

Thanks for reading 

The End 

February favourites

February has come and gone in a flash and March is upon us, the sun is shining today and it finally feels as though spring is on it's way....finally.

So the end of a month can only mean on thing? Lots of monthly favourites popping up on my news feed, which ultimately results in my wish list growing and growing. So I thought I would throw in my two cents worth of products I have been loving throughout February for you all! Here goes: 

Vaseline Spray and Go moisturiser in coco radiance.
This is the perfect easy to use moisturising for lazy girls, like moi. It dries in a matter of seconds and I love the coco butter scent, I did a full review of this product here.

Tanya Burr Lip gloss in Aurora
I have literally worn this pretty pink gloss everyday since I purchased it, its the perfect ever day pink shade gloss with a hint of glitter, the gloss isn't sticky and leaves my lips feeling hydrated and moisturised. I did a full review with swatches of my Tanya Burr purchases here

Origins drink up intense mask
The Drink up intensive overnight mask was a new purchase this month (I will do a full review very soon) and I have fallen head over heels in love with the stuff, I had heard some great reviews about this mask and I have not been disappointed, this mask leaves me skin feeling incredibly soft and hydrated and I love the thought of my skin drinking up this mask and hydrating while I get my beauty sleep.

Lush popcorn lip scrub.
If your a regular reading of my blog you might have read my post  Keeping my pout soft and conditioned which included my favourite lip scrub from Lush, well this month this old favourite has returned to my life and I have used this every night before I apply a lip butter. Last month my lips were a mess, I blame this cold weather, luckily I had got another pot for Christmas and voila my dry cracked lips have disappeared. This scrub exfoliates the lips and removes dead skin (nice) and it tastes so yummy, popcorn is one of my favourite snacks, so I can get my popcorn fix without the calories.

Leaves candle
I have a weakness for candles (like most bloggers), and my candle of choice is bath and body works. Of course I have fallen in love with a candle brand not available in the UK, I never make life easy for myself. However they sell Bath and Body works in Dubai where my family live so I can still get my fix. Leaves is hands down favourite scent, its more of an autumn aroma with a mixture of apple, berries and cider scents but I love it all year around. When I burn this candle you smell it throughout my whole apartment and I can smell it the next day.

So I hope you enjoyed my monthly favourites, I would love to read your monthly favourites so leave your links below.

Thanks for reading

In flight beauty essentials

Hello everyone, I hope your all having a lovely week and looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. I am super excited because I am off on holiday to Dubai to visit my dad, sister and step mum who all live out there. I haven't seen them since Christmas so I really can't wait and also looking forward to some much need sunshine and relaxation.

So I thought I would share with you today my in flight beauty essentials, as the title suggests. I know some people might think this is totally over the top but after years of flying long haul flights I know how much flying effects my break out prone skin. I used to find every time I flew I would break out the next day and then feeling extremely self conscious, and feeling the need to wear make up which isn't ideal in the baking hot sunshine. So I now make sure I look after my skin while flying. 

The first thing I do once I am settled on the plane is take all my make up off to allow my skin to breath. I normally use travel size bioderma for this step but i have ran out, so a good old gentle face wipe will do the truck just fine. You may ask what is the point is wearing it to the airport in the first place but I just do t feel comfortable walking around in public bare faced, and I wouldn't wear a full face anyway just the essentials. 

Ok so make up off! Next step tone moisturise and spot treatment. I don't have particular products I will just take travel or sample sizes of products I know will work for me. For this particular flight I have got Liz Earle instant boost skin tonic and skin repair light moisturiser which are both really great little products, if you have read my skin care post you will know I am a Liz Earle fan. I will apply these every half and hour to an hour just to keep my skin hydrated and moisturised. Then I have another mini moisturiser Elemis softly softly, ok yes two moisturisers slightly excessive. However I have good reason promise! As good as the liz Earle mini is its one a light biased cream and the Elemis is a much richer, thicker moisturiser so I find applying a deeper treatment just gives my skin a real moisture boost. I would apply the deeper modituriser every couple of hours or just when I can feel my skin starting to get dry. I know some beauty gurus do face masks on places but I just think that would be too fiddly so I use the richer cream as an alternative instead. Then through out the flight I will apply the Effaclar duo to any break outs I have in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay. 

Ok so skin care, check! Next on the agenda lip products. If you saw my how I keep my pout soft and conditioned you will have seen a review on my favourite lip products, so I will bringing my two favourite Nivea products on the plan to try and avoid the dry, chapped lip look while I am enjoying the sunshine. Then I have just packed a few little bits and bobs like a travel sized dry shampoo just to refresh my hair and deodorant, I don't want to arrive looking like a sweaty betty. 

Now make up wise I just take the bare minimal. I apply this just before we start to land, try to avoid while landing! Bumpy landing plus mascara is only going to end with a mascara brush in your eye, ouch! So I have packed my favourite light coverage foundation of the moment, Chanel Vitalumiere aqua, which I adore. I will do a few review very soon lovelies. Then my loreal telescopic mascara, I have individual eye lash extensions on at the moment (hence the little lash brush, they need a good comb now and again) so I am only apply it to my bottom lashes as my bottom lashes look quite sparse in comparison to my full thick top lashes. Then finally I have brought along my favourite every day lip product of all time, my strawberry shortcake Revlon butter I find its just the perfect pretty pink shade and it really compliments my skin tone. 

I think that's everything beauty related in my carry on bag, I will also take my Elizabeth Arden hand cream, which feels like pure luxuary on my hands, a travel tooth brush and hand sanitizer I just didn't have them handy to snap up. So other then that I will just get snuggled up with my blanket and read a book or watch a film. Oh and enjoy the plane food of course, I am one of the few who enjoy aeroplane food. 

So there you have in my in flight beauty essentials, thanks for reading beauties. I would love to hear if you have any beauty essentials when you travelling. 

Mwahhhhhh 

Empties

Hi Everyone, so today I thought I would share with you some hair, make up , skin and body products I have used up, what I thought about them and if I would repurchase. 

Pro- Voke Touch of Silver Shampoo

I have been using this purple shampoo for years and its my favorite shampoo for my blonde hair, I use it twice a week ( anymore can damage your hair and give it purple, grey tones). You don't need to much of the product as it lathers up really well. This tone correcting shampoo leaves my hair looking really white blonde and removes any horrible yellow brassy toned, which is never a good look. For the £3.00 price tag it is a bargain.

Would you repurchase? Yes already have a new one in my shower. 

Aussie  3 minute miracle shine conditioner

 This conditioner left my hair feeling soft, conditioned and smelling really nice. However having blonde hair I didn't find it made my hair shine in anyway, but with my bleach blonde locks I should have expected that. 

I think this would work well on brunettes for achieving the shine result. 

Would you repurchase? No, purely because of my hair type

Body shop, banana shampoo and conditioner. 

This collection had a mixture of fruity scents and honey mixed with the banana, and I loved the scent it left on my hair after shampooing and conditioning. Now this is very strange for me because I hate the smell of bananas but I loved this. I think I preferred the shampoo to the conditioner, I just have tired  other conditions I prefer and found they left my hair softer. But I loved the shampoo, as did my fiancé, i noticed he kept using it :p 

Would you repurchase,?shampoo yes, conditioner no. 

L'oreal elvive crystal sparkling shampoo,

 I love loreal products, but this shampoo wasn't for me. It smelt good and I loved the idea of the pearl and micro crystal formulation but it just did nothing for my hair, it actually left it looking slightly greasy. Again I just thing this was wrong for my hair type, I am sure it would work better on darker hair. 

Would you repurchase? no 

Batiste dry shampoo

 I am a big fan of dry shampoo and go through bottles very quickly. Even on days when I have washed my hair I find myself reaching for it, my hair is quite limp and fine and I find a quick spray of dry shampoo really gives my hair body and volume. I have also found this using dry shampoo my helped my hair grow loads, because my hair gets greasy quite easily I had to wash it lots but now I just wash it three or four times a week, so its in much better condition. 

Would you repurchase? yes 

Bioderma Sensibio H20 - Micelle Solution

now i don't need to go into too much detail about bioderma every blogger and its blog has raved about this product. I got this travel sizes bottle for my last holiday and it was a really handy size, also really good if you just want to try it out. Until now getting hold of bioderma has been a nightmare I got some in Dubai, but other then that I have had to rely on ebay, but finally bioderma has reached the uk. I find this product really gentle and cleansing on my skin and has really calmed my imperfections, defiantly a favorite product in my skin care routine. 

Would you repurchase? yes already have but this time gone for the Sebium H2o. I will do review in a few weeks. 

 Grease lighting, spot treatment from lush

Now I have a love hate relationship with this product. On one hand I find it is really good for getting rid of spots quickly, but it leaves the skin around the spot really dry and flaky, bleughh . So I am torn. But I think for now I will be saying good bye to grease lightening and try and find other alternatives that don't dry up my skin. 

Would you repurchase? no not right now. 

Lush popcorn lip scrub

 I use this lip exfoliated every night and before apply lipstick, I find it leaves my lips really soft and smooth and removes any dry skin. I love the taste of the popcorn flavor too. 

Would you repurchase? yes, still have one from a Christmas gift set I got in my lush drawer, yes I have a lush drawer. 

Rimmel wake me up foundation

This is one of my favorite drug store foundations, I adore the glowing and dewy finish it leaves on my skin. It applies really easily and smells lovely, defiantly a staple foundation in my collection. 

Would you repurchase? yes 

Maybelline the falsies mascara

This again is my favorite drug store mascara. It really volumes and separates my lashes amazingly, I love it. 

Would you repurchase? yes I always by back ups on the famous boots 3 for 2 offer. 

Maybelline dream lumi touch highlighting concealer

I wouldn't use this as a concealer as its very bright but I love this as part of my contouring and highlighting  routine, I use this under my eyes, down my nose and around my forehead (sounds ridiculous I know), I love the bright finished look it gives me. It's very similar to YSL touch éclat but costs less then half the price. 

Would I repurchase? yes but right now I am using mac prep and prime for highlight, so after that's all gone. 

Benefit heart throb blush. 

This blush has lasted me ages, I love the light pink shade of this blush, its very wearable and lasts on my cheeks really well, but it's no longer available, so if anyone can recommend a good alternative please let me know. 

Would you repurchase? would if I could, boo 

 Aqua Mirabilis lush body butter, 

This did a really good job at scrubbing away dry skin and left my skin smooth, this does have a strong nutty almond smell which I really like but might not be to everyone's taste. My only negative about this body butter is it melts quite quickly, I had it in my shower and it shrunk loads, so store in a cool place. 

Would you purchase again? yes but not for a while trying out some soap and glory scrubs at the moment. 

Phewww, That was a long post, but I hope you found it useful and ejoyed reading, Hope you all hav a lovely Easter weekend, and get lots of Chocolate.

Thanks for reading

Emma Louise xx