This weeks purchases...

Over the past week I have picked up a few items from both the drugstore and House of Fraser,on Saturday I did some shopping in Newcastle and stopped at Mac to pick up Warm soul blush,Indian wood paint pot and Satin Taupe eyeshadow.I was hoping to buy tan pigment but unfortunatly they were out of stock.I was especially excited to get my hands on warm soul blush as I had been looking for a natural looking blush and after seeing pixi2woo rave about this particular blush in her February favourites I knew I had to try it.I`ve been wearing it every day since I got it and I love it,I can tell its quickly going to become one of my most worn blushes.

Satin taupe is a shadow I hear a lot of good things about so I felt that it needed to be added to my collection however I haven`t had chance to try it out.

.Indian wood paint pot,when swatched is what I would call my perfect colour when it comes to the colours I like to wear on my eyes.Its a coppery,bronze,brown shade,a perfect base for some of my most worn shadows.Unfortunatly this diddn`t quite apply how I thought it was going to.It had less gold tones to it and appeared more brown.I still like it but the swatch does not apply to the application.

I also purchased Cliniques gel eyeliner,can you beleive I haven`t worn a gel eyeliner since I was about 16.I used to think liner on the eyelid diddn`t suit me but I thought,its been 4 years I should probabaly give it another go.I did my research before hand and the Clinique liner has some great feedback.I`m still on the hunt for the perfect brush,any reccomendations?

The rest of my haul are all items I found in Boots,we have Palmers dark chocolate and mint lip butter which is amazing!I have used this before and its my favourite drugstore lipbalm,I highly

reccomend.It smells and tastes of chocolate and mint,it soothes and softens my lips,lasts for ages and is pretty cheap!

Whilst browsing the sheleves of Boots I discovered these lashes by Ardell,I have heard many American beauty youtubers and bloggers mention this brand but I diddn`t know they were available in the UK.These were about £6 and I can`t wait to try them out.

My other purchases included a lipgloss from the brand Prestige,I am not hugely familiar with the brand but I do own their Mac msf rip off type product in the shade glam tan which I love and I used to use their bronzer back in day!I am very picky lipgloss person,I don`t like it when they are too sticky or opaqu,this one however is lovely.Its a 'Skin loving minerals' gloss in the shade 'Soft peach' it was £6.99.I would compare this lipgloss to the Revlon glosses,very smooth and non-sticky,fab!

Finally I picked up a bubble bath by the brand Sanctuary.I am slowly but surely getting over my Lush obsession,I do love their products but there is something refreshing about using a bubble bath that comes in liquid form and in a bottle after years of crumbling up bubble bars.

I also purchased some heated rollers and nail polish earlier in the week but I`m planning seperate posts and reviews for those so look out for those coming soon :)

Glamour magazine-Clinique Freebies!

To celebrate their 10th birthday 'Glamour' magazine are giving away one of ten Clinique products with every magazine.You can choose from there take the day off make up remover,dramatically different moisturiser,moisture surge extended thirst relief,high impact lip colour,all about eyes cream,7 day scrub cream,lash envy mascara,long last gloss wear,superbalm moisturising gloss or there liquid facial scrub.Decisions,decisions!.....

Or you could just pick up as many as you can find like I intend too!So far I only have one as I diddn`t actually realise they were giving away so many different products.I chose the the take of the day make up remover but hope to get my hands on the 7 day scrub cream and there long last glosswear.

February Favourites...

In the past I have always enjoyed watching and reading peoples monthly favourites,Its a great way of finding out what products people rely on and reccomend.I thought I would t a go myself so here we have my favourites for the month of February...

• Xen tan dark lotion-I am a total self tan addict however I like to switch up the brands I use.This bottle is the second Xen tan dark lotion I have purchased and have used it throughout February.I highly reccomend it if you are looking for a tan that fades away elegantly,lasts a long time and has an olive undertone.
• Estee Lauder sumptuous mascara-As mentioned in a previous post I received this sample in a free gift and I am really loving it.It really does add volume and seems to open up my eyes.
• L'oreal volume million lashes mascara-another great mascara I have been testing out this month.I love every L'oreal mascara I have ever tried,I really think they have the best drugstore mascaras.
• Mac melba -by far my favourite mac blush a gorgeous peach with a hint of pink,I wear this all the time
• Mac woodwinked-my favourite mac eyeshadow to date,I wear this about 3 times a week its great to wear on its own as it makes you appear more awake but I also love it paired with sable for a night time look or even a day time look depending on how much eyeshadow I feel like sporting that day
• Mac painterly paint pot,a great staple for anyone who wears eyeshadow,I love paint pots and this one can be worn under any eyeshadow.I have been choosing to use this over my UDPP alot lately
• Mac angel,probably my most worn pink lipstick this is my second tube and Im quickly working my way through it
• Boots no7 eyelash curler,I really reccomend this eyelash curler,I think its about £7 but I used a no 7 £5 voucher (Boots are giving these away atm when you spend £5) and you can buy it for £2-or therabouts.Works great,does the job.
• Clinique rinse of cleanser,I mentioned in a previous post how much I am liking this cleanser,it does a brilliant job of removing all my makeup and my skin feels really clean without feeling tight.It hasn`t broken me out,a little goes a long way and I love everything about it.Definetly going to repurchase!

What have you been loving in February?

My new skin care routine...

I know I blogged not so long ago about how I was using the Clinique 3 step system and while I do still like it I wasn`t really seeing any improvement with my acne which Is the main reason I purchased the 3 step.I really like the moisturising gel and the face wash did leave my skin looking and feeling clean and soft but on a whim I decided enough was enough and I was going to just cut out as many products as possible and try a more basic routine.

For the past two weeks I have been using the Clinique rinse off foaming cleanser which does an excellent job of removing every last trace of makeup and cleaning my face.It lathers really nicely and you only need a small amount.This product was actually included in a free gift box full of products I was given when I bought my 3step at Christmas and at the time I thought I would never use it but now I am loving it,it hasn`t dried out my skin or made me break out,infact my skin has got MUCH better however that may be down to my new medication.....

About a fortnight ago I decided enough was enough and I headed off to the doctors to request some new acne medication.I`ve tried a few creams for acne before and even resorted to the pill last year but I had alot of side effects so I came off that.This time however I was given 2 months worth of Oxytetracycline tablets and I have to say they are working!Don`t get me wrong I still have far from perfect skin but these tablets really have made a difference.I only have mild acne,or so I`m told,but it really gets me down so to see any improvement has been fab.I really wanted to share this with anyone who may be in the same boat as me as I know how having acne no matter how bad can really affect your confidence.

Another change to my routine has been my moisturiser,I am now using Cetaphil lotion which I purchased last summer and was not all that impressed with at the time.I remember finding it a little greasy and it just diddn`t do anything for me so it has been unloved and unused ever since.A few weeks ago however I decided to give it another go and to my surprise it is really working for me now.It gives a great base for makeup,is not too greasy and is just working for me now for some reason.I will still use my clinique moisturiser but for now I am really rating Cetaphil.

Another change I have made to my face routine is fake tan,I`d been avoiding fake tan since Christmas as I wanted to save myself some money and thought I would give the natural look a go aka. deathly white!Needless to say about 6 weeks on and I`m back on the tan,if it makes me feel better about my appearance then it is worth it in my opinion.Before I tan I use St Ives apricot scrub,I use it about twice a week,no more.I don`t think this scrub is anything special and I try to use it as little as possible as I`m paranoid it will irritate my skin however it does do a decent job of getting rid of any dead skin and making my face feel lovely and smooth!

Other items included in my skin care routine are my lush lip scrub which I could not live without.Yes I know you can make your own or use a toothbrush but personally I have tried the toothbrush technique and I`m not a fan also Lush makes such lovely flavours why not.This one is the bubblegum version,I use it probably 3 times a week and it works amazingly.

Clinique's all about eyes eye cream is another product included in the free gift box I mentioned earlier.It is a great base for makeup and allows my concealer to glide on smoothly.I don`t know if I would purchase the full size as its quite expensive (over £20) but this is a pretty generous sample size so I suspect It will last me a very long time.

So there you have it,pretty much everything I am using on my face at present.From now on I am going to try and avoid any products that are designed for acne prone or any specific skin type,combination,oily,etc.I am beginning to think they just create more problems and do more damage than good.