My favourite face mask, music and a little ramble!

My poor skin . . , it was only a couple of years ago that I started to pay it any attention at all and even then, I tended to focus purely on the moisturisers.

Then for the first time in a decade I started to breakout and I went on the defence piling one harsh anti-blemish product on after another.

Lesson learnt!

When things started to settle down (and they did but it took a while, a lot longer then I would have hoped), I vowed to start looking after my skin properly.

As well as plenty of blog posts (search skincare, skin routine), there were a few mistakes and disappointments along the way but gentle products and routine seemed to be key (though I know I should drink more water too, I WILL start tomorrow) in maintaining a clear, hydrated complexion and harbouring some glow.

I have done a few posts about my skincare routine and faves but I will quickly list here the few skincare products that I will (and do!) return to again and again.

Cleanser: The No 7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser

Toner: The Botanics Rosewater and Skin Brightening ones; The Lush Tea Tree Water

Moisturiser: La Roche-Posay Hydreane Riche; Embryolisse

I have also started to develop a weekly skincare routine. I try to use masks at least two or three times a week. I have tried and liked the Mask of Magnaminty from Lush. Likewise, the Manuka Honey one from Doctor Organic. I find both of these refresh the face and while they might not always heal a blemish. The skin does feel soothed after use and problem areas appear less red and appear a little more discreet.

However, there is only one mask that wows me and my dry skin enough to suggest that you all give it a shot and that is the Brightening Facial Moisture Boosting Mask from The Sanctuary who bill it as the 'ultimate moisture boost to revive thirsty skin for a glowing skin'.

This mask contains organic shea butter and honey and organic rosehip oil. Consequently, it is supposed to nourish the skin and protect it from ageing.

The Moisture Boosting Mask can be left on clean skin for ten minutes or as an overnight mask. I tend to go for the latter, overnight option. When I wash it away in the morning, my skin always looks better. I personally thinks it looks a little plumper and polished. Any red areas have gone while my under eye area looks so smooth and bag free. My skin also feels so soft to touch and any dry patches appear to have gone (Hydreane Riche is fab for dry patches too).

When a mask reaps such rewards, I'm obviously going to feel a little better about waking up in the morning. The lavender scent is supposed to relax the senses too. Bonus, bonus, bonus. I certainly need any extra help I can get in the mornings.

The only other skin mask that I have found to give such good results is Dragons Blood from Rodial. That one certainly gave me pepped up skin in the morning but I don't think it was quite as moisturising (my parched skin can never have enough moisture) and it was a lot more expensive.

At the moment, you can pick up a sachet of the Sanctuary mask (and I can normally get two or three uses from one sachet) for £2.03 from Boots online and I really suggest you all do if you want a little hydration, some glow or just a little skin kick.

Lately I have been doing as I believe Caroline and Anna do and use a couple of different masks one after another to give my skin the ultimate treat. I try to do this twice a week. Usually I use The Sanctuary Deep Cleanse 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask then the Moisture Boosting one. More often then not, I will also use the Botanics new Microdermabrasion Polish to gently exfoliate my skin before slapping the masks on.

Ah, the Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish. Now that's another product I currently love and can see becoming a staple in my skincare routine. We will have to talk a little more about that one soon. Talking of post teasers, I have started a list of ones I want to write and I'm determined to get on it. One thing which will feature heavily in a couple of posts is ink . . .

I hope you've all had a good few days. I've done some mooching and window (both glass and computer) shopping. I'm more then a little obsessed with these gold skinny belts from the 'Go Wild' collection in Warehouse stores and just need to choose which animal I want now. Which is your favourite?


The Jaguar



The Kissing Birds

The Lion Head

 

I'm also trying to finish, Beautiful Disaster, which I could not put down to start with but over the last few days and more then halfway through, I'm not quite as excited to pick it up again. I will though and I'm sure given a solid hour or so of reading, I will get back in to it again.

Music-wise, I'm loving 'Anything Could Happen' from Ellie Goulding and got to say loving Adam Levine (again!) in the video for 'One More Night'.

What are you loving right now? What skin treatments do you love?

 

X

Baby steps required!

If you look in my wardrobe, you will notice several incriminating factors . . .
1/ For every pair of trousers, there are about ten tops.
2/ Most of these tops are vest/cami style.
3/ There are far too many coats and black cropped cardis. Quite possibly, a new one each time you open the door. Magic!
4/ Work attire aside (bog-standard black trousers), my whole trouser collection almost consists of only dark blue jeans (usually skinny, occasionally straight legged)
5/ Er yeessss, Trinny and Susannah, half of my garments are still black. ( and yep, I have noticed this little affliction is slowly infiltrating this blog. Most of my featured garments over the last month or so have been black . . ! )Although forgive me, for what I lack in colour, I try to make up with in the mix of fabrics and textures I don.
6/ Although my look tends to be the pretty cami top (usually with the obligatory black shrug or 3/4 length cardi) with jeans, I do have some dresses and a few jackets cropping up. However, I have very few skirts.

In fact, there is probably only one skirt in my wardrobe that I actually wear.

I was reminded of this little pencil skirt when I saw Ruth in this recent Pixiwoo vlog. She looked so chic. You can see her OOTN post here.

I brought my little pencil skirt in Warehouse about five years ago. It was reduced to something like £12 and I still wear it today. It has to be one of my best buys ever and is certainly a garment I am very dependent on. I tend to turn to it when I have been shopping for some big occasion and have found absolutely nothing, zilch! Argh, don't you hate that? To be fair, I have also turned to this skirt when I have a brand new outfit all ready to go which suddenly on the night, doesn't look quite right!

I have paired this skirt with many things but I often pair it up with this old favourite, a Bay Trading black vest top that has a metallic v-neck (another garment that I turn to again and again.) My tiny TopShop black bolero will often be thrown on to cover the shoulders. Then I continue the metallic-black theme with these New Look heels.

A touch of fake tan, MUA varnish in No 10 (see this post) and a mix of Mac lip (possibly Snob, Viva Gaga and the In Synch lip pencil) and I'm out the door!

Sometimes to hike the classy factor up a little more, I replace the vest with a black bandeau top and a redder lip like Viva Cyndi.

Interestingly, this skirt is one I have only ever worn with my shorter length tops that finish at the waist. Normally I prefer my tops to flow (maybe it adds femininity to my usual jeans look) but with this skirt, I have found the lines need to be kept very clean or I end up looking like a girl playing dress up. The hems of the top either have to a)directly meet the waistline of the skirt or b)seamlessly disappear in to the skirt.

This skirt is made made mainly of polyester but has a lovely satin-like feel to it. It is very structured and flattering with vertical seams which just adds further to the svelte silhouette. When I brought this number, I did so on a whim and had no time to try it on. I liked what I saw and so grabbed the two remaining sizes (neither of them my ideal) and rushed to the till point. I have to say that it is the smaller skirt I choose to don and squeeze in to, even on fat days. This skirt just looks a lot better if you can wear it as tight as you can. Any gaps around the waistband has the potential to ruin the classic, clean silhouette that the pencil skirt is all about.

However be warned, even though it doesn't feel particularly tight at the waist, after I've jumped around and evantually got the zip done up, you can feel it walking and baby steps are required. This is important as there is a pretty little slit on the back of this skirt which I fear with a little too enthusiastic dancing could just ping apart sometime in the future.

Dressing up can be hard work. Tottering around on heels and baby steps ain't so easy especially after a drink or two. Still, I love this skirt, we've had some good times so I think, she's worth the effort and I have no doubt that she is worth the original £12(ish?) investment!

I've seen a few pencil skirts on the high street lately. Is it the type of  piece you are keen to have in your wardrobe? The more colourful ones remind me of Mad Men, a boxset I need to finish viewing.

Lipstick lust and Amelia's giveaway.



Image from Google Search here

For a while now, I have been swooning at the mere mention of Show Orchid from MAC. I love this colour, it is very feminine (and very similar to one of my blogging colours) but the cool purple tones give it the edge and take away any potential Barbie connotations.


Image from Google Search here

 When I've searched images of this lippie, it becomes evident that anybody can almost certainly pull this lipstick off. This lipstick seems to add beauty to any look and complexion. It is an absolutely amazing lipstick but unfortunately probably not one I could wear day to day and at work etc. I guess, this is why as of yet, the stunning Show Orchid remains on my wish list.


Image from Google Search here

MAC lipsticks are quite expensive and I already have too many 'just for pleasure' ones so I can't justify buying yet another at the moment. However, my dream lippie may still be mine as I will be choosing this lipstick if I am lucky enough to win Amelia's very generous giveaway.

You can enter to win a MAC lipstick of your choice here.

Which one would you choose, good luck!

 

Hope you're all having a good start to November. I am so excited for fireworks this weekend, love firework night. Please, please, please, don't rain! What garment is your best buy? What would I see if I peeked in to your wardrobe? Do you wear pencil skirts? What are you reading? I will make sure I include a book update in the next post or so.

X

At last!

So lately I have been very inspired by various blog posts and fashion tidbits to update my wardrobe.


There seems to be so many pretty things out there. I have all these ideas of all these things I want to buy (remember my style board) so lately I have spent most days off in one shopping centre or another on a mission to gather some treasures to form a wardrobe which I can be proud of.

Yay!

Except, normally I come home disheartened. You see, it all seems to go wrong once I hit the changing room and today seemed as if it would be no exception.

First of all, inspired by Zoella's recent post, I hit Primark and actually I was surprised how tidy it was. Maybe early morning (not as early as Zoella's though), mid week visits are the way to go. I actually found quite a few items to try, a couple of basic tee shirts in pink and grey with some feathery shoulder embellishments; a vest with sequins and the statue of liberty on the front and a gorgeous little black and white polka dotted coast but trying them on, each seemed too long or a little too clingy in certain places and baggy in others. I'm sure I must be such a strange shape. Nothing between a size 8 or 12 is ever one hundred percent too big or one hundred per cent too small. Just too big or small in this place or that and then the opposite in another. Argh. . !

Anyway despite the threat of rain, I bravely persevered and headed to TopShop. There, I fell in love with a white delicate cowl neck jumper but they only had a size 12 and the neck was just too big, it sort of fell past my stomach. I'm tempted to order online and try a smaller size but I can't find it. Argh! However, such a delicate garment was unlikely to see Clumsy me through until Christmas. Still Boo!

I also tried the chain vest (as highlighted by Laura). I tried a black one and the mustard one but wasn't sure how I would wear it. I tried on some leather effect leggings to do the rock thing. I was quite excited about this as my style is not normally so rock and roll but unfortunatly they were so, so long (I think it was these) and I took this disappointing length as an omen.

All in all, it looked liked my shopping mission was yet again destined to fail

Until. . . I casually popped in to my local department store who were having a twenty per cent off day and it was here in the Warehouse and Miss Selfridge concessions that I struck gold.

Oh yes, three cheers please!

Firstly, a basic black tee shirt from Warehouse with similar shoulder embellishments to those I tried earlier in Primark but this tee fitted so much better and was a smart and safe black so yes, purchase one was made. I have to say black tee shirts are my weakness, I just think they are such an investment and can be worn up or down. You can never have too many.

Then there was this gorgeous cream shirt with some ruffle detailing down the front. Again so wearable, my two favourite words!! I'm not brave enough to try that red, workman tarten shirt look that a lot of girls seem to be pulling off at the moment but I do tend to find that shirts and three quarter length cardigans are more flattering and swamp me less then most knitwear items I find.

And finally we have the ultimate buy of the day. I absolutely adore this brown frilly dress. It fits so well and really pulls and conceals in all of the right places. It makes me feel slender and very special. It has a very deep V neckline which could do the talking for more dressy occasions but the gorgeous number could also be layered for a more casual look.

The sleeves scared me at first as they looked huge on the hanger. Indeed, quite divaish but once I tried it on, I could see they hung in a way that actually worked and I was much more comfortable with these then I am when I'm wearing shoulder pads. I think that the length and the tapering of the sleaves helped tone down the drama to the right notch.

There is a beautiful tie at the back. I just think this dress represents the style of decades past well and is timeless. It is very girly but in a great shade of brown, soft and it is not skin tight or too much. It is also very verstatile. Normally as a short girl, I have to be very careful layering long tops or dresses over trousers etc and have to select a special pair but today in the changing room, this little number instantly looked at home over my very casual, worn Matalan jeans which I happened to be shopping in. A good omen surely!

Oh and I nearly forgot. I have also got myself a pair of the New Look wedges that have been mentioned by a couple of bloggers. For example here and here Many of you may remember the suede heels that I loved from Primark earlier this year. Well, these wedges are suede too and they are very, very high which is good 'cos I need the extra height and I find the safest way to get such height is on the top of a wedge or platform heel so I'm hoping to get lots of wear from these.

So, there we go, a little fashion haul! At last!!

What do you think? Have you brought anything exciting lately?

X