Dry & Sensitive Skin Care Routine

 

To me, a skin care routine is extremely important and I for one stick to mine religiously. In my early teens I suffered with really problematic skin, so I decided one day that I would develop my own routine and stick to it. Over the years I have definitely seen an improvement in my skin overall and I very rarely get blemishes. The main thing with skin care is to obviously find the right products that suit your skin type and stick to them! If you're constantly swapping up and using different products, your skin won't react to them properly and it'll have no lasting effect.

I have sensitive skin that is prone to dryness - my jaw and eyes seem to be the worst affected! So I have to find products that pack my skin full of hydration yet at the same time are gentle and soothing to calm the sensitivity. I'm really happy with how my skin care routine is at the moment as I've found some real gems that work really well for me. An added bonus is that everything I use can easily be found on the high street, so value wise I think they're all amazing!

St Ives Apricot Scrub for Sensitive Skin | LINK

As I have dry skin, exfoliating is a key step in my skin care routine as it helps buff away my problem areas and helps keep my skin feeling soft and looking radiant. My favourite facial scrub is the St Ives Apricot Scrub for sensitive skin and despite it being quite a rough facial scrub, I actually find my skin looks its best if I use this on a daily basis. I like to use this in the shower before cleansing so that it can really help make my skin feel soft and smooth.

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleanser | LINK

Now this cleanser seems to get a lot of mixed reviews, but I for one absolutely love it and use it both morning and night to cleanse my skin. The Peaches & Clean cleanser by Soap & Glory is packed with anti-oxidants and vitamins so whilst it gently cleanses away makeup and impurities, it also helps treat my skin and leaves it looking and feeling amazing. I love this cleanser so much and I can honestly say it's helped clear up my skin and definitely keeps any new blemishes at bay.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | Review | LINK

For makeup removal I always turn to the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (applied on to a large cotton pad) as this is brilliant for gently removing any kind of makeup - including waterproof mascara! I love how refreshing this feels on the skin and how quickly it takes my makeup off without leaving any residue on the skin. This also works really well as a toner and sometimes I apply this to a small cotton pad and wipe it across my face before I apply my moisturisers in the morning.

Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturising Day Cream

Whatever your skin type, a daily moisturiser is absolutely essential to have in your skin care routine as they help control oil production and aid your skin's moisture levels. Every morning after cleansing I like to apply a fair amount of the Superdrug Vitamin E Day Cream to leave my skin feeling super soft and nourished. The day cream also contains SPF 15 which is great to help protect my skin from the sun's rays. The Superdrug Vitamin E range is (obviously) high in Vitamin E, anti-oxidants and contains horse-chestnut oil extracts which leaves your skin feeling amazing!

Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream

This is just the night version of the Vitamin E day cream and I like to use this every night before going to bed. The night cream has all the same benefits as the day cream (minus the SPF protection) so helps keep your skin feeling nourished whilst you sleep. One main thing I love about these Vitamin E creams is that their smell is really rich and lovely. Despite these creams feeling thick and luxurious, they both sink into the skin instantly and leave it feeling moisturised and hydrated!

Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Eye Cream

To complete the set, I also use the Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Eye Cream both day and night. As I've said, my eyes seem to be prone to dryness so an eye cream has been an essential part of my skin care routine for years! This is the best eye cream I've used so far as it's light yet is so nourishing on my eyes. It's really gentle too so I've never found it to irritate my eyes, so this will be great for people with sensitive eyes too. You only need a small amount of this cream so this little tube actually lasts quite a long time despite its size.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil | LINK

Facial oils are actually a fairly new addition to my skin care routine, probably in the last year and a half or so. I was originally using the ESPA Optimal Pro Serum, but when I ran out a few months ago I went on the hunt for one that was less expensive yet still did an amazing job. I've recently fallen in love with The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil and I use this every night after cleansing my skin. I find 3 drops is the perfect amount to press into my skin and over night, the oil helps leave my skin feeling nourished and looking glowy and radiant in the morning.

Witch Naturally Clear Blemish Stick | LINK

Even though I have dry skin, I do still suffer with the odd break out. So when I do I always reach for my trusty Witch Blemish Stick that contains witch hazel which is an anti-septic treatment that helps dry out spots and blemishes. I'm sure many of you do use this blemish treatment as it works so well and is super cheap!

Freederm Fast Track Treatment | LINK

If I have any pesky spots that won't budge with my Witch Stick, then I'll apply a small amount of the Freederm Fast Track Treatment gel. This just helps reduce blemishes and their redness in a gentle way without over drying the area.

Superdrug Vitamin E Leave-On Moisture Mask | LINK

As I'm a firm believer in pampering your skin, I like to have a range of face masks in my stash to use a couple times a week. One of the newest additions to my skin care routine is the Superdrug Vitamin E Leave-On Moisture Mask which is from the same range as my moisturisers. This is a fairly new release yet is one that I'm already completely obsessed with! Like the moisturisers this mask is packed with Vitamin E and anti-oxidants so leaves your skin feeling really soft. What I love about this mask is that you apply it like a thick moisturiser, leave it on for 10 minutes and then simply massage the excess into your skin - simple, no messing around with removing it!

Superdrug Own Sachet Face Masks | LINK

These face masks are amazing (I think I'm a bit obsessed with Superdrug skin care!) and are so lovely to use! Sachet face masks are fun to use with your friends and it's nice to experiment with different ingredients and formulas. My absolute favourite ones are the Manuka Honey Peel-Off Mask and the Cooling Cucumber one (not photographed) as they are both amazing for sensitive skin and leave my skin looking and feeling amazing!

Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask | Review | LINK

If my skin starts to flare up and feels really sensitive, this is when I use the Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask as it's brilliant at reducing redness and inflammation. It also leaves my skin feeling soft and is just an all round great face mask for people with sensitive skin!

I hope you enjoyed my updated skin care routine! If you're curious and fancy reading what products I used to use a few years ago, then check out this post here. I hope that if you're looking for any new products to include in your skin care routine this post has helped you. I'd recommend everything in this post if you suffer with dry/ sensitive skin like me as together they reduce redness and help nourish my skin!

What are your top 3 skin care products?

Leave your skin care tips and tricks in the comments below!

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube

Beauty Tips For My Younger Self

Like many girls, when I was younger and in my early teens I was completely guilty of my fair share of beauty mishaps! It's only when you're older and a bit wiser on what actually works for you, do you look back and think "what the hell was I thinking?!".

I thought I would put together a list of these "beauty fails" to see whether any one else did these when they first started to experiment with beauty products! I'm definitely not saying that what I do now is perfect - you never know, I could rewrite this post in 10 years time and be criticising the things that I do now!

1. Put down those tweezers, Amie!

Who knew how lethal a pair of tweezers can actually be? Very is the answer and I'm sure most of you reading this will agree! I was definitely one of those girls that got a bit "tweezer-happy" in my early teens and one day decided that they had to be thin. Very thin in fact. Of course this looks ridiculous and I cringe whenever I see a picture of younger myself with these terrible brows. I actually went far enough once where I accidentally shaved off half my eye brow! Luckily I could hide it with my fringe, but I was so embarrassed that I think that's when I finally decided to give my brows a break.

2. Find the right skin care that actually works.

When I was younger I never stuck to a proper skin care routine. I either used the same products that my mum had bought for herself or just bought whatever was on offer at that time. With the added factor that I didn't even realise skin types existed, this meant I was constantly buying face scrubs/ cleansers that were for every skin type except my own! I never thought I had dry skin as I constantly had blemishes, so I continued to buy products for oily prone skin - which obviously made the situation worse! Throw in the fact I also have sensitive skin meant my skin was a mess, yet it was only when I was 16/17 that I started to sort out my skin care routine.  

3. Sort out your hair care routine!

My hair care routine was pretty similar to my skin care routine where I just used whatever I found in the bathroom at the time. Luckily I was quite clued up in the sense to use both shampoo and conditioner from a young age and that my hair didn't need washing everyday, so the condition wasn't too bad! But because my hair was curly, some days I suffered with fly aways and frizzy hair, so what was my solution for this? Well I used to put conditioner straight on to my dry hair in hope that it would smooth it down. Obviously it did smooth my hair down, but it also made it look ridiculously greasy and feel disgusting! I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea at the time, but thankfully I grew out of that habit!

4. Don't keep using makeup that clearly doesn't work for you.

Raise your hand if your 13 year old self thought the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse was the best foundation invention ever *raises hand*. As I had no older sister to tell me what makeup I should actually be wearing, I let my younger self choose and of course I made all the wrong decisions! Dream Matte Mousse was the first to pop into my head. Despite using the lightest shade, I knew for a fact it was far too orange for me, yet I still carried on using it!

I was also a massive fan of glitter eye liner (gold being my favourite - lovely!) and used it on top of my liquid liner and lashings of mascara - it's a miracle I could even hold my eye lids up! I think I was slightly scared at the thought of swapping up my makeup, so I just stuck to the same products even if they didn't work for me! Luckily now I love to swap up my makeup, but I definitely won't be going back to these products! 

5. Get some dress sense girl!
Back in the day, I really didn't have a clue on fashion. Between the ages of 13 and 16 I had a weird sense of style and used to buy clothes that really did not suit me. I remember that I used to buy things from the Topshop and Miss Selfridge sales just because I wanted something from that brand, not because I'd actually ever wear it! This meant I collected some awful clothes that really weren't me and looked terrible on. When I wasn't wearing these, my typical look would be some unflattering jeans paired with the classic Primark ugg boots! Now that I work in the fashion retail industry, I do actually have some nice clothes (hallelujah), but I do remember it used to be such a struggle to pick out an outfit in my teens!

 I hope you enjoyed this post, I had a bit of a giggle to myself as I was writing this! Let me know whether you agree with any of these tips and leave your own in the comments below.

What beauty tips would you give your younger self?

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube

Perfume Collection

For me, no outfit is complete without a little spritz of my favourite perfume just before heading out the door. It helps complete my look and I could go far enough to say I feel slightly naked without wearing any! Over the years I have grown a small collection of perfumes and body mists that I like to use on a daily basis. I'm someone who like both a sweet girly fragrance for daytime wear and a more sophisticated, deeper scent for the evenings.

Dolce & Gabbana The One

 This is what I would class as my everyday perfume as it has that perfect mixture of a sweet fruity scent with deeper tones of vanilla and ambery-musk that I really like. It has an amazing wear time as well and I always get compliments on my perfume whenever I wear it! I got through my 30ml bottle pretty quickly and I'm now on to a bigger 50ml bottle, so this perfume is a definite winner in my books.

Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita

 This perfume reminds me of the first time I went to France with my boyfriend just over 5 years ago. I had popped into Sephora to buy any eyeshadow (my first ever high end purchase!) and received a little sample of this perfume. I loved it so much and luckily found it in my local Asda for around £10 which was an amazing bargain! I really love the bold spiciness to this scent plus the bottle is absolutely stunning when sitting on my dressing table! I think it's always important to have a special perfume like this that brings back good memories from the past.

Boss Orange Woman

I feel like this is a really popular perfume amongst us ladies as nearly everyone I know owns a bottle of Boss Orange! This is a scent that my boyfriend picked out for me and he buys it for me every year. I find it's a perfect Spring time scent as it contains notes of sweet apple and has that lovely warmth to it that I like in perfumes.

Vera Wang Princess

This is another one of my staple everyday perfumes that I absolutely adore! I remember finding this on Fragrance Direct and was able to get the 100ml bottle plus a roller ball version for around £40. It's lasted me absolutely ages but I am probably due to buy a new bottle very soon. I love the light fruity and floral scent that makes it a perfect everyday scent.

Marc Jacobs Dot*

Marc Jacobs has some of the nicest perfumes out there, mainly due to the overly cute bottles! Dot is a young playful scent with floral and vanilla notes making this an amazing Spring/ Summer perfume. This is definitely a day time scent as it's light and fresh and will be one I'll be reaching for more in the warmer months.

Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto*

I've very nearly come to the end of this beloved perfume - literally just a few sprays left! YSL's Manifesto has beautiful woody and vanilla notes making this a perfect evening scent as it's very sophisticated. I also love the oriental tone to this perfume and if it was cheaper, I would keep on repurchasing it time and time again. For now I'm going to keep it for special occasions and save up to buy a new bottle soon!

Vera Wang Lovestruck

The last perfume in my collection is another one from Vera Wang called Lovestruck. As I loved my Princess so much, I thought I would give this a try when I found it in the sales. I'm not as keen on this scent and is probably the one I reach for the least. Despite having the typical floral and fruity scents I like, I think the musk element kind of brings it down for me and I find it doesn't sit that well on my skin. Such a shame as the bottle is so pretty!

Zoella Blissful Mistful

I think every blogger and their dog owns the lovely Zoella's body mist - it's always good to support the fellow blogging community! Obviously body mists don't last as long as perfumes, so I prefer to use these during the summer or to take them on holiday to throw in my beach bag. As it's such a fresh fruity scent, this will be great to start wearing in the spring.

Soap & Glory Orangeasm Super Tonic Fragrance Mist*

My final perfume in my collection is another body mist from Soap & Glory and is in the Orangeasm scent. This body mist is a fresh fruity scent with orange and lemon extracts. The wear time isn't very impressive and unfortunately isn't a scent that I seem to get along with - it seems a bit clinical smelling, if that makes sense! I'm sure some people will really get along with this scent, but personally it's just not for me.

So this is my current perfume and body mist collection! I think it's great to have a few perfumes on the go because it's nice to swap things up a bit, especially for different occasions and seasons. Let me know your thoughts on my collections and whether you tried any of the perfumes that I own!

What is your all time favourite perfume?

Leave your recommendations in the comments below!

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube

Valentine's Day Makeup Look

Hello everyone! With Valentine's day just round the corner I thought I would come up with a super simple makeup look for you that uses a bold lip and a neutral smoky eye. This year me and my boyfriend haven't got anything special planned, but I think it's always nice to dress up that little bit extra on Valentine's just to make your self look your best! This is definitely a look you could wear on an everyday basis and you can just switch up the lipstick to fit the occasion.

To prep my skin I used both my Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor (which is a translucent BB cream and primer in one) plus I applied a bit of Porefessional to my T-zone to make sure my makeup stays put! For my eye primer I used the Stay Don't Stray eye shadow and concealer primer. This is a great eye primer as it's slightly tinted and will help brighten up your eyes.

For my base makeup, I've gone for my staple everyday foundation and concealer duo! The Rimmel Match Perfection creates a light dewy finish to the skin and the infamous Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer helps cover up any pesky blemishes or dark circles. I think going for a fresher look for your skin on Valentine's by using these two products will definitely be a winning look if you're hoping to impress that certain someone! To add a natural flush to my cheeks I went for Benefit's blusher shade in Dandelion which is a beautiful light pink with a touch of shimmer. This blush will give your cheeks that lovely light glow that will leave you looking beautifully radiant!

Starting with my brows I went for Soap & Glory's Archery which is one of my absolute favourite makeup items in my collection. I love how natural yet defined it leaves my brows and never gives me that heavy over-filled in look! For my eyes I decided to use my Naked 3 palette and applied the shade Liar to the lid and Factory into the crease. I've been trying to use my Naked 3 palette a lot more recently as I hardly used it when I first bought it because I found the shades quite difficult to work with for my skin ton/ eye colour. Now that I've kindled a love for these two shadows, I'm always reaching for this gorgeous looking palette! Finally I finished the eye look with Urban Decay's 24/ 7 Eye Liner in Stag and applied a generous amount of Benefit's Roller Lash to give my lashes that fluttery look!

Now to the lips which are what I wanted to be the focus point in this makeup look. I chose the gorgeous lipstick from Soap & Glory called Pom Pom which is a matte deep pink shade. I couldn't decide between a red or pink lipstick for this look, but I think this shade is a nice in-between colour and works really well for this time of year. The staying power of this lipstick is also incredible - even after hours of wear it still stays put and doesn't fade into patches like some lipsticks can!

So this is the look I'm going to wear this Valentine's day! I hope you all like it and if you have done a post similar to this I would love to have a read. I think Valentine's day is definitely a day you can experiment with your makeup, so have fun with it!

What are your thoughts on my makeup look?

Hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara | rrp. £19.50 | LINK (release date: 12.02.15)

Whenever Benefit brings out a new product, the whole beauty blogging world (and most of the non-blogging world) go into a slight overly excited "I need it" mode. This was no exception with Benefit's latest beauty release in the form of a revolutionary mascara that is currently exclusively available to all Elle readers before its official release date! Roller Lash is Benefit's new curling mascara that is designed to give your lashes the ultimate curl and length without the need of eye lash curlers.

With this month's Elle magazine you are able to try Roller Lash in a super cute travel size form for just £4. These size mascaras are perfect to pop in your hand bag for touch ups throughout the day or to keep in your travel makeup bag as they're small and compact. As I have mentioned the main aim behind the Roller Lash mascara is to give your lashes that gorgeous curled, lengthened and lifted look that every girl desires! The curved wand and different sized bristles allows the wand to catch all of your lashes and give them that lift they need. As I have naturally curled lashes anyway, I find that this mascara just enhances them and gives them just that bit more length which I really like.

Roller Lash comes in an intense inky black shade with a satin finish that really makes your lashes look volumised and thick. I think it would be great for the mascara to come in a black/ brown shade too as I know many people can find black mascara too harsh against their natural hair colour. But as I do have dark hair, I find the blacker the mascara the better - so for me this product is amazing!

In terms of application, I really like how the Roller Lash goes on and the wand is easy to use. Compared to the They're Real! mascara (which for me was just too wet and messy to apply) this goes on really well and instantly makes my lashes look fuller. In the photo below I only have one coat of the Roller Lash mascara on, but you can definitely build it up to two coats without it clumping too much - I would say keep an eye lash comb on hand as sometimes you can get the odd clump on the end of your lashes!

Roller Lash is probably one of the best mascaras I've used in terms of how well it lasts on the lashes. I find it stays black all day and my lashes look just as good in the evening compared to when I applied it in the morning! Due to it being water resistant, I also find it hardly smudges underneath my eyes which is great. When it does come to the end of the day when I need to take my makeup off, my micellar water removes the mascara very easily and quickly without leaving me with panda eyes! I really like that it's easy to remove yet stays put all day which is exactly what you want from a mascara!

Overall I've really been enjoying this mascara and I'm super tempted to pick up a full size version when it comes out later in the week! Usually I'm not too fussed with higher end mascara as I think high street versions do such a good job anyway. But as this applies so well and looks amazing on the lashes, I might have to treat myself to a tube!

Have you picked up the latest copy of Elle to try this mascara?

What are your thoughts on the Roller Lash mascara?

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube

January Favourite's

Hello everyone, I hope you're well! Today I thought I would do a monthly favourite's post as I don't think I've done one of these in a very long time - even before my long break! January is one of my favourite months to read "monthly favourites" posts because everyone has tried and tested all of their goodies they received at Christmas time or in the sales! Over the past few weeks I have been trying lots of new products, but only a certain few have made it into my January favourite's!

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot | LINK

Benefit do some of the best blushers in my opinion, so I was really excited to receive the Cheeky Sweet Spot blusher tin for Christmas! It contains 5 of Benefit's blushers and their infamous bronzer in Hoola. I've constantly been reaching for this palette when I do my makeup in the mornings as it has every shade of blusher that I could ever want! My favourites have been the Rockateur which is a gorgeous rose gold shade and Sugarbomb which has 4 different shades that you can swirl together to give a healthy glow to the cheeks! All of these blushers are long lasting and look beautiful on the skin. I know this product is now out of stock, but I would definitely recommend trying any of the blushers in full size!

Superdrug Vitamin E Leave On Moisture Mask | LINK

Being someone with very dry and sensitive skin, a good hydrating and moisturising mask is essential in my skin care routine. After being a fan of the Superdrug Vitamin E skin care line for quite some time, I decided to try out their new leave on moisture mask. What I love about this is that you can apply it to freshly cleansed skin for 5 to 10 minutes and once it's done you simply massage the excess into your skin! It's pretty much like using a super rich moisturiser that doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy or heavy. This is the perfect mask for anyone who's quite lazy with their skincare as you can just simply rub it in after using it, plus at £2.99 it's an absolute bargain!

Soap & Glory Super Colour Fabu Lipstick in "The Missing Pink" | Review | LINK

The lipstick range from Soap & Glory is pretty much my absolute favourite from the high street. Their gorgeous hydrating formula, easy to wear colours and yummy vanilla scent make them lovely to wear on a day to day basis! My favourite shade from the range and one that I've been wearing non-stop in January is "The Missing Pink" which is a beautiful light natural pink that looks beautiful with every makeup look. I highly recommend these products so definitely give them a swatch on your next Boots outing!

Toni & Guy Prep Leave In Conditioner | LINK

Having naturally dry hair means that I have to include lots of extra conditioning products to my routine to keep it healthy and soft. I heard some good reviews on the Toni & Guy Leave In Conditioner for frizzy hair and thought it would be great to use after washing to give my hair that needed moisture boost - plus having naturally curly hair means it's so prone to frizziness and I thought this would be perfect to tame that! I've been using this after every hair wash and I have definitely noticed a great improvement to how sleek my hair looks. It's much more manageable and feels a lot healthier!

Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette | Review | LINK

My final favourite has to be the gorgeous new Urban Decay Naked On The Run palette. I've been using most of the products from this palette pretty much everyday and has always made its way into my weekend travel bag when I stay at my boyfriend's! I love that it contains everything you need to create a gorgeous makeup look so all I need to remember to pack is foundation and this! I've loved using all of the eye shadows and the eye liner and mascara are also really lovely! I haven't tried the blusher and bronzer as much as I thought I would, but I think these will work better in the summer months when I have more of a tan!

So these are a selection of products that I have really been loving this month! I would love to hear whether you've tried any of these products as well and if you like them too. Let me know your January favourite's in the comments below - I'm always on the hunt to try some new fabulous products!

What products have you been loving in January?

 Bloglovin'  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Pinterest |  Facebook  |  YouTube