Stylish blogger award.

Stylish blogger award.

Firstly, a big thank you for the messages you left me on my last post.  I really appreciate every one and it means a lot that you ladies took the time to write them, thank you.

As I've not been logging into this blog for a while I'm only just beginning to catch up on the hundreds of new posts.. I'll get there I'm sure (in a few months!).

Anyway, lovely Louisa at Let Them Eat Cake nominated me for the Stylish Blogger award.  Thank you :)

The "rules" are to write 5 random facts about yourself and then nominate 5 other bloggers..


Heres mine:

1. My 2nd toe is significantly bigger than my big toe.. Which is slightly scary!
2. I find it near impossible to know which streets are called what, so whenever anyone says 'Excuse me, can you tell me how I get to...'  I lie and say 'Im sorry, I'm not from around here!  :0/   The only way I know how to get somewhere is by knowing the name of the shop on the street..  Don't get me trying to think about motorways and junctions either..
3. I'm lactose intolerant.. So I'm the one who licks and sniffs the chocolate.. then puts it back!  (Only kidding!!).  I have tried dairy-free chocolate, but the resemblance to those Good Boy dog drops is uncanny..
4. After watching Paranormal Activity I can no longer go in my loft!
5. I moan.  A lot! I can relate to everything that is said on Grumpy Old Women (let me remind you that Im 30.. not 60!)

I tag:

http://abbiebabby.blogspot.com/ - Abbie

http://www.donotrefreeze.com/ - Leanne

http://www.beautyliciouslove.com/ - Jo

http://kroniclesofakonader.blogspot.com/

http://makeupwonderland.blogspot.com/

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Clarisonic, my thoughts..

Clarisonic, my thoughts..

Firstly Im sorry theres been a lack of posts and responses on your blogs, I'm just so busy with Jess that I'm finding it hard to find the time to keeping blogging.. But hopefully things will settle down (I'll keep my fingers firmly crossed on that one, especially as shes ripped my new dress this morning!  Not happy!)

Anyway..

Im pretty sure my Clarisonic Plus arrived on the 7th of May, so Ive been using it for 2weeks now.

The RRP for this is £175 (I used a Bank Holiday promo code and got mine cheaper), so its not something you buy on a whim.. Ive sold plenty on Ebay to pay for mine!!

When I first started using it I got the same glowing, clean, soft pretty skin that everyone else talks about.. I'd never seen my skin so fresh and glowy looking, and the pores, they were visibly reduced like many people reported too.  Winner!

You can  adjust the settings to suit you and you can also adjust the time from 60 seconds (Im sure they think '60 seconds' sounds quicker than '1 minute'!)  Have a quick look on the website here, to see what they say about it.
I use mine morning and night for 2 minutes at a time, I also use the brush head that came with it, I believe its for 'normal' skin.  There are brush heads for sensitive skin, and for spot prone skin.

What can I say..

So far, its that Im glad I didn't rush on here gushing about it and recommending everyone save up for one (like I was going to do!)!  Two weeks in my skin is still glowing.  HOWEVER, I now have the worst case of spots Ive had since I was a teenager!  And funnily enough now I know about it and have googled 'The Clarisonic made my skin worse' I'm not the only one!!
So many people have complained about it around the two week mark.  Several people have blamed it on the cleaners that come with, Ive not touched these.  I did switch to a Clean & Clear gel wash which is more gentle than my Clearasil Ultra as I found I didn't need such a harsh wash anymore as the Clarisonic was doing most of the work getting my pores clean.. But now Ive switched back, not only to be sure its the brush giving me these spots, but also because the Clearsil gets rid of my spots within 3 days, normally!  But not this time!  These spots are the really red, angry, under-the-skin sore types and theyre not in the places Id normally see spots, such as my cheeks and jawline (although they are there too!).  Just this morning Ive woken up with 3 angry red spots on my nose, last night there was 1, now its been joined by 2 friends all lining up towards the bridge of my nose.. and not just there but just under my eyes too.. who gets spots on the bridge of their nose and eyes!?  Theyre also right by my ears, theres a few on my forehead, on my cheeks.. just about everywhere you can think of, and I have one incredibly sore one brewing on my chin.
Ive been extra careful changing my towels and pillow cases etc, tying my hair back at night, not touching my face, cleaning my brushes etc..

So right now my skin is still glowy yet incredibly spotty, so I'm not happy!  Its not really about the money, I know I could get most of it back on Ebay, its more that I'm annoyed it doesn't seem to work for me, and because I know it does shrink my pores, it does leave my skin glowing, I feel even more gutted because Ive had a taster of how good my skin could look!

I guess I stick with it.. But how long do you give it before you call it a day, how bad does my skin have to get before I cant carry on!  Its already pretty sore, quite taut and dry from the spot creams and instead of having nice skin so I could go make up free, I'm having to wear a thicker foundation to cover things up!  Its just not good.

The only thing I can try now is using it once per day at night time to give my skin a rest, and perhaps try spritzing the brush head with Dettol to kill any germs that may be lurking on there..
Some people have complained about it smelling like an old damp towel.. Mine doesnt because I have been cleaning the brush head after use, but I guess it will inevitably be damp so its a possibility theres some germs on there..  We'll see!

I was going to post pics of how clean, fresh and glowing my skin looked, but I didn't take any pictures last week and my skin this week looks pretty different!  I'm too embarrassed to put any on now because it 's just too spotty and not very nice :(  Perhaps when I'm feeling braver I will.. And if the Clarisonic doesnt help in the long run I may just put some up anyway to give you an idea of what I'm dealing with after using it.. That way you can make up your own minds whether you want to risk it or not!

All in all, not happy and Im wondering if glowy skin is a good trade of for spotty skin!??

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E.L.F Haul

E.L.F Haul

Am I the only one who hates the word 'haul'!??  I just feel it sounds really greedy, like you've raided somewhere in a spending frenzy!??

..Yeah, it's probably just me!

Anyway, on Wednesday I placed my first order with E.L.F (thats 'Eyes Lips Face' for those of you who may live under a rock ;0p  !), up until this point I was an E.L.F virgin!

I don't know why I've never purchased anything from them, it could be in part to them being totally new to me.. You know how it is, when you're 13 you dabble a bit with some Rimmel makeup (my first ever Rimmel item was Heather Shimmer lipstick!  Does anyone remember that purple packaging with the little lever thing they used to have on the side!?    I digress!).. But you kinda grow up with those brands, you learn to know what works, but most importantly you get to try them out in the shops, and I don't believe theres anywhere in the UK where you can play with E.L.F and get to test it out first (feel free to correct me if Im wrong!).
I also think I made up my mind they were a bit too cheapy, not that I dislike cheap, I'm certainly no high-end girl.. but hearing the reviews on Youtube about all these $1 finds from Walmart, just kinda put me off!

But recently Ive been spotting posts in which their Studio Line Powder Brush was used, and all in all I don't think Ive read a bad word about that particular brush.  Then theres the dupes that people speak of, plus I'd also read Rachel's review of foundation primers at   http://queenofturquoise.blogspot.com/  , she said that the ELF primer was the best of the three she tested..  So in the end I decided to give ELF a try!

I purchased:
3 All Over Color Stick's in Pink Lemonade, Golden Peach and Spotlight (Spotlight is supposedly a dupe for Nars Multiple in Copacabana)
Mineral Lipstick - Runway Pink (a dupe for MAC Angel?)
From the Studio Collection:
Powder Brush
Warm Bronzer
High Definition Powder
Mineral Infused Face Primer
Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder  (a dupe for Nars Orgasm/Laguna?)

I can't comment re the dupe factor!  I don't own any of the others to make any real comparisons, but I'm sure with a bit of Googling you could find some swatches and make your own minds up :)

On first impressions I'm very pleased with every item, I'm also impressed at how they were packaged - all nice and neat within a small box, not bouncing around inside a huge wasteful box!  Lastly I'm pleased with the speed in which they were delivered too (less than 24 hours!).

They arrived Thursday morning (super fast delivery!), and last night I had a play with a few things.

Last night I had to go to a party (notice the word 'had' there!) so I used the primer, the HD powder, the contour blush & bronzer and the mineral lippy.

On first impressions I really like the primer, it made my skin feel silky smooth, but I do worry it might leave me with spots as it left a greasy fingerprint on my black Nars lid.  But this is one I'll be using for special occasions, not everyday use, so it should be ok.  What I also noticed is that my face looked a bit greasy 6 hours after application, which is sort of the norm for me, but I find when I use my Nars Sheer Glow on its own it doesnt look that way 6 hrs later, so Im assuming it was the primer..?  More testing me thinks.

The lipstick was a beautiful colour.  I cant carry off nude lipsticks so I found this to be a really pretty pale pink colour, I loved it and it lasted very well.

The contour blush and bronzer.. I liked the bronzer as a contour, I did find it a bit of a hastle to blend, but once Id done that I was v happy with the results... The blush, hmmmm, I'm not so sure.  I need a bit more of a play with it (With them all infact) to make a full informed decision!

The HD powder.. How silky soft is that!  It really gave my face a flawless look and I was very happy with it.

I was very happy with the brush too, so much so I'm going to look into buying some others.

And on a sort of side note, the Clarisonic + Elf primer + Nars sheer glow + Elf HD powder = An AMAZING flawless finish!!
I know thats a lot of product for a base, its certainly a far cry from what I use on a daily basis, but for a night out I'd def recommend giving them a whirl!

Do you have any of these products, which ones do you like?

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Jess - A single figure countdown!!

Jess - A single figure countdown!!

When you get to single figures on a countdown, somehow it makes things seem that bit closer!

 It's still 9 days, which feels like a loooong time to me, but I'm focusing on the fact she will be here in 'days' now, not weeks!

Yay!!

(If you were wondering.. No, I dont wear the same denim jacket and gillet all the time!  This photo was taken at the same time as the previous ones!)  :0P

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1/2 Price on Boots Original Beauty Formula's

1/2 Price on Boots Original Beauty Formula's

Yesterday I picked up a few bits from the Boots Original Beauty Formula's range.

(Pictured: Cleansing Milk Now £1.94 from £3.89)


The ones I saw in the teeny tiny Boots we have were all half price, although it does say 'selected' on the site. As they didn't have that much in I only picked up a few bits, but at home I placed an online order for the cleansing milk and vanishing cream, which I will collect in store to save on the delivery charge..

Anyway, heres the linky if youre interested :)



Have you tried these yet, did you like them?

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L'Oreal True Match minerals. A (scary) before & after.

L'Oreal True Match minerals. A (scary) before & after.

****Warning!  Contains scary photographs of naked skin and a zombified woman! ****

This was a last minute decision, I suddenly decided to show you a before and after of L'Oreal True Match Minerals this morning!

Currently I'm using this in W3.

Coming up is the (scary) before picture..  I'd only been awake for about 5 minutes!  I have no fake tan on my face at the moment and all I'd done was wash my face, then swiped over with my clearasil deep pore treatment pads, after that I applied some Panoxyl 5 (for my hormonal spots) and then concealed my under eye circles with Maybelline Mineral concealer in Natural (I know I still have a bit of a panda eye going on, but I'm too scared of that ASDA eye makeup remover and I dont have anymore yet!).

It was at this point I thought somehow it would be a good idea to take some photos!?

(Sorry for looking half asleep and dog rough!)

And this is after I'd applied the True Match.  I tend to be a lit lazy and use the brush provided instead of my kabuki brush.  I swirl the brush in some powder, tap off the excess then buff it on:

Its done a fair job on my uneven skintone I think (and those odd dark patches of skin around my eyes and forehead).  Like I've said before though I'm unhappy with how much it accentuates my pores (you can clearly see them on my cheeks especially).  But I think all in all it looks OK, I could've chosen something with a fuller coverage that works better with my pores, but as I just needed to be ready for the school run I didn't see the point.  You probably can't see but I have a few spots here and there (on my cheeks) - thanks to my monthly friend, and the True Match has covered them well without the need to conceal any further.

These pictures should prove useful when my Clarisonic arrives though.  At the moment my skin isn't in good condition.. I've always had very visible, open pores, but at the moment my skin has dry patches (from the clearasil and Panoxyl), and at the moment my skin is pretty hormonal..  So we shall see if theres any sort of improvement!

And thanks to my bright ideas of photographing myself that close up, Ive decided I feel quite old!!   I no longer have the skin of an 18 year old (funny that eh, considering I'm 30!?!).. but those lines on my forehead and the ones from nose to mouth.. Urgh, if I were rich Id probably be thinking about some botox round about now!!

I hope Ive not made anyone feel too ill!


Have a lovely day :)

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So excited, I may just pee my pants!

So excited, I may just pee my pants!

I'm counting down the days for the delivery of this lil delight..

For those of you that dont know what it is, its the Clarisonic!  Oh yeah baby!!

Whoohoo, come on Mr Postie!!

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