The Latest

Showing posts with label body shop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body shop. Show all posts


A mere 34 hours prior to writing this post, I landed at Leeds Bradford International Airport following my fabulous two-week holiday in the ever-so stunning Mediterranean island of Cyprus. I absolutely adooooore Cyprus, I've been three times now to the cute beach town of Coral Bay in Paphos, and every time I fall in love with the place all over again. I managed to see Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite's Birthplace, above) this time which I was super happy about as I'm really interested in Greek Mythology. Anyways, you guys don't wanna hear about what I did on my holiday, but I do know you'll wanna hear about what I bought, so here goes...




First off I started in LBIA's Duty-Free. Obviously. I needed to get some make-up remover wipes as I had none left at home, and I knew there was a Superdrug in the Airport so I just popped in there. As well as the face wipes I got some nail polish remover pads and a lip balm. Like I need more. As well as going to Superdrug, I also went to WHSmith to get a couple magazines that came with some fab freebies!



Superdrug Cleansing Facial Wipes (for combination skin) - £0.99
Like I said before, I needed some face wipes as I had none for my holiday. There wasn't much selection but I know that Superdrug is cruelty-free so I went straight for theirs. They had different ones but I thought best to just go for the cheap ones. Sadly they had none for oily skin so I just opted for the combination ones and so far there haven't been any issues. I can see myself buying these again to be honest, they remove make-up really easily and aren't irritating or harsh on my eyes, and they're dirt cheap!



Superdrug 20 Nourishing Nail Polish Remover Pads - £1.39
I've had the regualar pads before and to be honest they're not that great. They take forever to remove the polish, but I guess you have to expect that when they're super cheap. Instead of opting for the regular ones like last time, I went for these ones as they're acetone free and the same price as the others.



Barry M Cor Balmy! Lip Balm in Rosie Lea - £3.49
I'd realised when I was in Superdrug that I forgot my usual holiday lip balm (balmi lip balm in coconut, check out my review here) so that instantly gave me permission to by a new one. I always get excited to go the the Barry M stand in the airport as I adore their polishes. Mum stopped me from getting the new Summer Gelly collection though. Sad face. So instead of buying a bunch of new polishes, I went for one of their brand new lip balms - Cor Balmy! I didn't have high hopes of this to be honest, but I actually really like it. I got it in the shade Rosie Lea which is a bright rose pink with a hint of mauve. It's pretty nourishing and a beautiful colour. I think Mum is going to have to stop me from buying all these too...



Glamour magazine (with free Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in either Navy or Black) -
I love Glamour, so when I saw that they were giving away a free Eyeko liner with their magazine I just had to get it. You had a choice of navy or black but I didn't realise this until later, and ended up getting the navy one. At first I was annoyed at myself but then became excited to try navy as I (suprisingly) don't have one at home. I've used it a couple times so far and at the moment I love it.



Cosmopolitan magazine (with free pair of sunglasses) -
Cosmopolitan is probably my favourite magazine out of them all. I've got a pair of their sunglasses from a previous issue and they're not amazing, which isn't exactly surprising, but they're not too shabby either. There were three different shades to choose from and I opted for these black ones.




Despite being super close to the gorgeous Kings Avenue Mall, I didn't do any shopping in Cyprus itself apart from getting a cute bracelet in one of the little shops, and a nightingale jug whistle from the market which I sadly broke. Although, I did have a look around at Paphos International Airport's Duty-Free, and was excited to find a Body Shop stand.


The Body Shop Lip Butter Lollipop - €20.70 (£15 but on sale for £10)
After almost an hour of sulking because my Mum guilt-tripped me into not getting this lip butter set, I went against her wishes and got it anyway. Sorry Mum. I've been wanting one of these lollipops for aaaages, so to see one in an airport in Paphos of all places when I thought they'd stopped selling them was practically the Universe telling me I needed it. I definitely needed it.


On the flight back home to Leeds I had a little flick through Jet2's JetAway magazine, checking out all the products they had on offer. I always look through on both flights there and back, but usually get the stuff I've been eyeing up on the way back, unless it's something I reeeally want. This time their selection wasn't that good for me as there were very few cruelty-free products, which I was disappointed about, but I still managed to get something after telling myself I didn't need a new bottle of Paco Rabanne's Lady Million.



Eylure Eye & Lash Kit in Warm Smokey - £12
I was umm-ing and ahh-ing over whether to get this. After around three hours of contemplating and blasting out Iggy Azalea and Foxes' new albums to help me, I decided to get it. After all, it's not like I don't have enough eyeshadows or falsies or mascara or eyeliner now is it? Noooooo of course not... The set includes three eyeshadows in gold, plum and charcoal as well as a liquid liner and mascara, both black and a pair of naturalites 107 lashes and lashfix.


Have you been on holiday recently?
♥

So this is my first ever empties post and I've been meaning to do one for aaages. My main concern is that I don't finish enough products to do one, but it wasn't until I started putting all my empties in a box for this post did I realise that I actually do! Me being me wrote this a little late, mainly because I had other posts planned but I've finally got around to it. Now I can't remember which order they were used up in so I'll just do them at random.


Lee Stafford Hair Growth Shampoo & Conditioner
By far my favourite shampoo and conditioner, ever. This stuff is absolutely fabulous and I can see myself using it for years to come. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you may know that I'm a huge fan of Lee Stafford's hair care and styling range, I can't get enough! I rave about his products to anyone that'll listen, they're the best and I ain't just saying that. I go through these two products so quickly though because my hair is so long and I have so much of it, and as the products aren't exactly cheap my mum kindly gets them for me (hi mum!) as I can't afford them myself. Sigh.



The Body Shop Earth Lovers Apricot & Basil 100% Biodegradable Shower Gel
A friend of my mum's bought me a bunch of these Earth Lovers shower gels a couple years ago in different scents for my birthday and I just got around to using them, and I must say, they smell soooooo good. You wouldn't think that apricot and basil would work, but it really does. It's hard to explain the scent but it smells a little like them fruit salad chewy sweets. Consistency-wise, it's not as thick as average shower gels, it's actually pretty watery. But because I use all shower gels with one of them scrunchy, net-like thingymajigys (I am so good at explaining stuff) it doesn't bother me, although I have noticed that this one has lathered more than average shower gels. I would've happily bought it again if they hadn't have been discontinued *sad face*.




Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic
Ah, Liz Earle. My favourite skincare brand by far. This is the first tonic that I haven't found to make my skin drying or tight, which just shows how good it is for my skin. It leaves my skin silky-soft and it smells so clean and slightly floral...a bit like a meadow on an early morning in spring, but not overpowering. The perfect toner for all skin types!



Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray
This is the kind of product that I love, but would prefer to find a cheaper alternative to. It's good n'all, and I have bought a replacement, but at £20 for 118ml, I'm debating whether it's worth it. It makes my make-up look more 'skin like' after I've applied powder and the bottle lasts ages, which are both a plus but it just doesn't seem to keep oil at bay as much as I would like it to. I'm gonna search around for a cheaper alternative to compare it to, as I feel for the price it should have a lot more going for it.



No7 Stay Perfect Smoothing & Brightening Eye Base
I do like this product, and I could see myself buying it again as it keeps my eyeshadow in place, but it creases. It's annoying because I find it so much easier to use than Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and to be honest creasing doesn't actually bother me that much but it is £7 for a little pot so if I needed a cheap(ish) eye base, I'd probably go for this one.




Soap & Glory Trick & Treatment Concealer
I got this about 4 years ago and only just found it again, and no, I didn't use it...not after I'd smelt it anyway. I used to absolutely adore this concealer, I'm so annoyed at myself for letting it go off as I used to swear by it. I can't remember if it's actually as good as I thought it was, but I'll definitely be buying it again! I know it's not empty but I was gonna throw it away anyway and wanted to share that with you all because I'm strange.



I'm gonna start doing empties posts more if you guys are interested in them, as I quite enjoyed going through the stuff I've used up. Plus, I'm trying harder to use up older products before new ones, and this is a good incentive to help me!


What have you used up recently?
♥
I often get asked my favourite skincare products from many different people. Now, I'm all for telling you guys, as it is my job as a beauty blogger after all, but sometimes I can't help but wonder that what if you have dry skin, and your copying my skincare regime and then surprised when it's making your skin worse. I don't want do that! So instead, I've written this 'guide' if you will, to help you understand your skin type and discover the products that will make it look - and feel - fabulous.

First of all, I have oily, acne-prone skin. It sucks. A lot. I've been to the doctors about it, been put on antibiotics which made me very ill, a cream that brought me out in a rash so bad that I was 99% sure my face was on fire and then of course, I tried it my own way with various lotions and potions that promised the world to no avail.

In this post I'm gonna help you discover your skin type and how to care for it. I'm not a dermatologist and don't have any professional knowledge in the field, but I'm going to tell you what I know from experience and compile as much as I can from the internet. I've tried to include many skincare essentials like toners, moisturisers and scrubs, but I've also added masks, oils and facial peels as I thought that it would be good to recommend products that you may have never tried before but may work wonders on your skin! Also, I tried to aim for different budgets, whether they be little or big. Please note that skincare products usually are fairly pricey, but often that is the case for the more promising products.

The one thing that I will recommend to all skin types is Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (£13.25 for 100ml pump). It's brilliant, and when teamed with the muslin cloth it gives gentle daily exfoliation. To be honest, I've used countless LE products and not one of them has disappointed, it's by far my favourite skin care brand, and although there are plenty of LE recommendations below, I've included other brands' popular products too.

Sensitive

Your skin can react easily to products. They may bring you out in a rash, cause flaky skin or general inflammation. All skin types can have this.

Now, I haven't compiled a list of products for sensitive skin. Instead, I labelled the products for each of the skin types if they were suitable for sensitive skin. That way, if you're combination-sensitive, for example, you know which products you would be able to use. If that makes sense...


Normal

You're the luckiest of them all, obviously. You have no 'extreme' signs like the others but your skin can sometimes feel tight and your t-zone a little shiny. Generally you have no problems with your skin. Just because you have good skin doesn't mean you shouldn't look after it though!




- philosophy the microdelivery peel in-home vitamin c/peptide peel (2pc) - £59 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator (70ml) - £14
- Trilogy Very Gentle Calming Serum (30ml) - £28.50 (suitable for sensitive skin)

Oily

Your skin is shiny all over and are prone to breakouts, more-so on the t-zone but can get them anywhere. Also likely to have large pores and blackheads.

- Nose pore strips. Now these are pretty amazing, they get out all the dirt and gunk (cute) outta your nose, leaving it clean and less-prone to blackheads. The only thing about the strips is that you should never over-use them otherwise you can be left with massive pores. Not a good look. I generally use them once a fortnight, or longer if my nose is looking blackhead-free. I use Marks & Spencer's Nose Pore Strips (£3 for a pack of 6). On the back of the box it says you're meant to use them twice a week but DON'T. Three days doesn't allow enough time for your skin to rejuvenate, and that's how you can end up with large pores. Always make sure you moisturise after using them, too.
- Don't do what I used to do and strip your face of oil by just applying toner and leaving it. It makes your oil levels sky-rocket as your skin detects that there is none there. Therefore, you end up with even oilier skin, which means whenever you apply a toner, always apply moisturiser afterwards.




- Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub (150ml) - £3.79
- The Body Shop Seaweed Day Cream (50ml) - £10
- Molton Brown Pink Toronja Refining Toner (200ml) - £25
- Montagne Jeunesse Shine Control Face Mask (sachet) - £1.49
- philosophy when hope is not enough hydrating antioxidant serum (30ml) - £34 (suitable for sensitive skin)

Combination

Similar to normal, but more extreme. Your skin can be tight and flaky but around your t-zone it's fairly oily. You're prone to breakouts, too.

- With combination skin, you have to be careful. You can't use products for oily skin, as it dries out the outer half of your face, and you can't use products for dry skin, as it puts your oil production on your t-zone into overdrive. It's like you're fighting a losing battle. That's why you always need to go for products specially designed for combination skin. There are loads, I promise.




(I know a lot of you will be wondering why I recommended aftersun. Basically, when my skin gets a little dry, I use the Soltan Aftersun and it works wonders. Plus, the aloe vera in it helps clear spots. It's amazing, and well worth a try for the price!)

- Boots Soltan Aftersun Hydrating Lotion (400ml) - £8 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Face Mask (sachet) - £1 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ (30ml) - £26.50
- Soap & Glory The Fab Pore 2-in-1 Facial Pore Purifying Mask & Peel (50ml) - £10
- Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner (100ml) - £17.50

Dry

Your skin often feels tight and can be flaky. It's likely that your pores are on the smaller side, too.

- Moisturise. Moisturise. Moisturise. I can't stress this enough. Being lazy on a night-time and not using any can mean that you wake up with skin that feels tight and possibly painful. It's not worth it! Get into a routine of washing your face, using toner and then applying moisturiser.
- If you have especially dry skin, try a facial oil, like the philosophy one recommended below. They not only put moisture back into the skin but they also plump the skin out, helping to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. They're sometimes dubbed miracle-workers, and it makes sense why...




- philosophy when hope is not enough omega 3.6.9 replenishing oil (0.85oz) - £34 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- No7 Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion Face Exfoliator (75ml) - £11 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- The Body Shop Hemp Face Protector (50ml) - £8 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask (50ml) - £14 (suitable for sensitive skin)
- Molton Brown Tamarind Fruit Refining Toner (200ml) - £25


What's your skin type?
~requested~
♥