The best of the after Christmas sales

I like a good bargain like anyone, but I am not one for standing outside a store at dawn or facing the madness of Boxing Day shoppers. These are just a few things I managed to find after the frenzy had died down. 

My lil stahs of goodies 

Kurt Gieger Mabel flats 

Laura Mercier Mini Eyeliners 

        

Soap and glory Eyeliners

Laura Mercier Mini glosses 

I did not get much but I picked up a few good things. 

The Kurt Gieger flats are super comfy,

 the Laura Mercier glosses are moisturizing with 

great colour payoff plus they are travel sized, lol. 

I love coloured eyeliner, that is just my thing. 

This year I did not pick up any of the urban decay eyeliner sets, 

but these two are more than making up for it. 

Have a great day my lovelies.

xx

Birthday Presents - MAC Stuff

I received a MAC makeup lesson as a birthday gift. The lesson was £50 and then afterwards I was allowed to redeem that amount in products. The makeup lesson was an hour and a half long, in the back room with all the bright white lighting that makes your skin look amazing.  The MAC lady went through skincare, prepping skin before makeup, foundation application, highlighting and various other processes with me. She had a look at my skin, and thought that it was a bit dehydrated (which was true) otherwise there were no major concerns. I enjoyed the lesson, and I picked up these products to add to my collection. 

My haul, lol 

Magenta liner, Moisture cover concealer in NC45, Flat out Fabulous - Lipstick , Blucsh - Ambering Rose

This lipstick colour is just tooo gorgeous.

Great blush for summer outings and photos. 

There is a bit of a back story here, this gift was for my 2013 birthday. I got the  voucher in July but the MAC concession in Leicester Highcross where I originally wanted to book in. They could not fit me in unless it was during the day, which was no good for me since I would be at work. Also that MAC concession they do not have any lessons or makeovers on Saturdays because they are too busy. So I booked in at the MAC store in Nottingham, with my weekend schedule and their availability I only had the lesson about 3 weeks ago. (Yup from July to December) another person might think wow that is long for just 1 booking, I like the fact I had time to pop into the store, look at the products, choose my lipstick. Also I was able to look at my current makeup collection and see which items I needed to upgrade / add. 

Something similar happened last year as well. My brother bless his soul gave me  a MAC gift-card as a Christmas present. (MAC gift-cards are quickly becoming his go to gift  for all his sisters I have noticed.) Did I immediately go out and buy the first thing  I saw? No, I waited until I had a MAC item that finished then I replaced it. This time the item that finished (in April) was my MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural which you all know i am in very very very deep like with. For me the wait is a bit of a strategy as well as a saving mechanism.

This post is a bit of a ramble but I say all of that to say this. Sometimes it is better to hold out and wait to get those few items that you absolutely love. Even if you have to try them 4 times just to be sure. 

Have a great day my lovelies.

xx

Birthday 2014 - OOTN

Yesterday was my birthday  (25th January)  there was a lot of love via calls, texts, cards, champagne and cake, cake, cake cake. Shout out to my aunty M for being the first call of the day and to G for being the first text of the day. Usually I am awake and my skype pops off at midnight  with my friends calling to sing me happy birthday. This year I was asleep so the skyping/calling had to wait til the morning. 

Face 

Laura Mercia Tinted Moisturiser - Walnut

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural - Deep Dark, Dark deep (whatever they are calling it these days)

Sleek Blush - Flushed#

Rimmel Brow Pencil - Dark brown

Kate Moss by Rimmel lipstick - 22 

Dress - Little Mistress via House of Fraser

Shoes - Call it Spring

Happy Birthday my fellow January births,

 back to the celebrations now.

xx 

The Birthday Wishlist 2014

My sisters always buy me what they think I will like present wise, not what I ask for.  I have specifically asked for money this year, however a request for gift ideas have been asked for.  If they deviate from the simple request, hopefully they will choose something from this list of  carefully cultivated items.

Gentlewoman by Enitan Bereola

Never Wrestle with a Pig - Mark McCormack

Jack Wills Berridge Merino Crew - size 8 (Navy)

Jack Wills Latchmere Cardigan - size 8 (Pink)

Jack Wills Beckside Crew - size 8 (Navy)

Joules Islington Womens Postcard purse - Dark Aqua

Joules Islington Womens Postcard Purse - Dark Pink

Joules Brindley Pheasant Umbrella - (yes an umbrella, 

you know what the British weather is like)

TM Lewin knot cufflinks

TM Lewin Vouchers

MAC  Vouchers

Space NK Vouchers

Money 

The Skin Project - Face Masks and Treatments

Hello lovelies this post is a day late but could not be helped I'm afraid. I have been lain up in bed all weekend with all sorts of aches and pains accompanied by horrendous sneezing. Not to worry I am feeling  much better after plying myself with vitmain c, water and Innocent Smoothies all weekend. While I am on the mend, I thought I would write up this weeks entry for #TheSkinProjectSeries.

This week the skin project started by Lianne over at www.thebrunettesays.co.uk is all about face masks and treatments. I must admit that I do not have many treatment but I am someone who loves a face mask. High or low money is not a deciding factor when I purchase a face mask or treatment, I am in for the results aka the way my skin feels after I have applied the treatment/mask.

Face masks are used to treat a host of skin ailments, combat ageing,  provide moisturising/hydrating properties and some even offer gentle exfoliating. The number of active ingredients in facemasks vary according to skin type and remedy.

Due to my skin type being Oily/Sensitive and Blemish prone I tend to stick to clay based face masks and chemical exfoliators. However there is alot of love in my heart and space on my potions counter for the Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Face Mask, especially now during the winter months. I find myself popping it on here and there during the week to give my skin a quick boost.

My Favorite Clay masks:

The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay mask - My absolute favourite from the bunch. This is highly effective as a spot treatment.

                                                         


Avon Clearskin Pore Penetrating Black Mineral Mask - Don't sleep on the Avon skincare, they currently own Liz Earle. This is a light clay mask, great for drawing spots to the surface.

                                                                     

Superdrug Mud Therapy Aloe
                                                               
These three are my favourites honorable mentions go to the Origins Active Charcoal Mask, it was nice but I can live without it in my skincare routine.

Treatments:

REN F10 Smooth and Renew Mask - this is a gentle chemical exfoliator.

                                                           


REN Glycolic Mask - This is a more suited to my oily blemished skin. It has a strong citrus scent. It is a bit stronger (stronger is a fluid term) then the Smooth and Renew mask but just as lovely if not even more so.

                                                           


Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel - A cult beauty product for a reason. The results of this are clearly evident withing the first few uses.

                                                                  

My skin slways has a very soft and plump feeling after a treatment with one of these chemical exfoliators. Products absorb better and the difference in makeup application is evident. I tend to treat my skin with a mask on Sunday and a chemical exfoliator on a Wednesday. That way my skin gets some recovery time in between two deep treatments.

Here's to hoping that you guys,

 are having a great new year so far.,

The Skin Project - Moisturiser

                                                 

The first post of the skin project for the New Year is all about moisturising. 

Moisturising is the process of aiding the body's natural hydration of the skin. Moisturising  prevents the upper layer of the epidermis from getting dry through loss of water which occurs naturally through evaporation. When the water in the cells within the epidermis (top layer of skin) is lost,  the skin tries to pull water from the lower layers of skin. This loss of water  will cause the skin to become dry. When moisturiser is applied to the top layer of skin, the skin absorbs it, the hydrating agents  within the moisturiser helps the water already present within the skin cells. Composition of products along with skin type determines the effectiveness of a moisturiser, ie whether or not the skin will absorb all or some of the product. Eg My skin type - Oily will absorb 50 - 90% of a light moisturiser, but only 30 - 45% of a rich moisturiser.

Since my skin is Oily I tend to go for light and oil free formulas. Price is not a determining factor for me in relation to buying a facial moisturiser. I usually test the products first and if I like how it feels on my skin after it has been absorbed then I will buy it. Sometimes I like it a product after trying it once, other times it might be after 3 or 4 tries the love comes. One thing I wont do is force a product, if it leaves my skin greasy, oily or with any sort of film/coating it is a no no for me. 

My current moisturiser for the daytime is the Origins GinZing moisturiser, which is a light hydrating formula. It has a semi gel like feel, spreads very easily and absorbs very quickly into my skin. After application my skin feels plump and supple without looking greasy. The Origins Ginzing moisturiser layers up easily under my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural and the MAC Studio Fix finish. 

                                         

Review

In the evenings I apply the Boots Botanics Hydrating Night Cream All Bright (pictured above) as my night cream. This product is another face cream with a gel like consistency. It has a bit more body to it than the Origins GinZing, but it goes on light and absorbs quickly. I have been using  these creams for almost 7 months and I am still happy with both of them. 

Happy New Year to you all, for more about #TheSkinProject read posts by the other participants and the creator Lianne @ www.thebrunettesays.co.uk.

Be Re-newed

xx

The Replacements

My Miss KG Lotus Black Pointed Ballerinas passed away to shoe heaven in September. In addition to that the Office Term time Loafers did not work out. I had to exchange the brown pair twice because the soles kept splitting. The black pair didn't do me the honour of splitting, one of the soles just fell off one day when I was at work. Suffice to say replacements needed to be drafted in.

The irony of this is I ran away from purchasing these Dune Laino Penny Loafers because The Office Term Time Loafers were cheaper, not by much but still cheaper. Now after all the the rigmarole, I had to buy the Dune Loafers anyway. If I had bought them in the first place I could have saved myself the trouble and the blisters. 

LAINO Black Leather Penny Loafer

I had a look at the Nine West Jowhona3 Black Flat Court Shoes in Debenhams while on my shoe hunt. However after realizing  the composition of the Jowhona3 Black Flat Court Shoes were synthetic just like the Faith Patent Bow Pumps I went with the Faith ones. I have 3 bows on my shoes instead of 3, making me a very happy bunny. 

Faith Patent Bow Pumps 

Love the 3 bow detailing

The life and times of a shoe-a-holic in training.
Happy New Year my lovelies 
xx