Get Party Perfect Skin In One Week - My Tips

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I suffer from oily skin and large pores around my nose and on my cheeks. I’ve been working really hard on trying to both eliminate and conceal my pores, and try and get my skin to stay matte looking all day.

It took a lot of guts for me to post my Friday and Saturday night face photos, and after scrutinizing them both in a highly magnetised size I have to say I am fairy pleased with how my skin looks in them. I took both the photos using flash which as you know is not the most flattering way to take a photo, but nonetheless I am happy with how I look.

From reading all of your blogs I know that I am not the only one to be blessed with quite unfortunate skin so I thought I’d share the skin routine I use when I am getting ready for a night out. I don’t want anyone to think I’m showing off or anything because my skin is honestly nowhere near perfect, but I have simply learnt to make the best of what I’ve been given!

When my skin was at its peak of awfulness during my teenage years I would constantly try new products, read a million skincare articles and generally do whatever I could to get my skin looking nice. So hopefully this might be useful to anyone in the same situation I used to be in!

Seven Days To Go – Drink Water! 

I try and drink the recommended amount of water every day, but if I know I have a night out coming up I’ll put in extra effort to drink that little bit more to make sure my skin is well hydrated and bright – it works.

Six Days To Go – Moisturise! 

Even if you have oily skin – I never really believed in this but recently I have been making a lot more effort with it and can definitely see the benefits. Sometimes oily skin can have a tendency to look a bit dull, so a brightening moisturiser such as Avon Solutions Total Radiance is a must. I only moisturise at night and my skin is starting to look a lot brighter in the mornings. You can read my Avon review here.

Five Days To Go – Exercise! 

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Again, something I do regularly, but always put more effort in if I have something to work towards. This is not just to look skinny – cardio exercise such as running or cross training really gets your blood pumping and circulation going which results in a lovely fresh complexion. Sweating gets rid of all the toxins that can build up – just make sure you remove all traces of makeup before hitting the treadmill. I like to go for a run on the morning of the occasion – just twenty minutes is enough to boost your circulation and leave you with a lovely healthy glow. An alternative to this is gently steaming your face for a couple of minutes. 

Three Days To Go – Fake Tan! 

This step is optional, but for me my skin looks nice and glowy with a bit of healthy colour – I like to have a healthy bronzed glow, I’m not a fan of the tangerine look! Make sure you exfoliate and moisturise your body the day before you put the tan on; the best way to apply it evenly is with a mitt. Tan covers a multitude of sins and I swear by St Moriz - review here.

Two Days To Go – Exfoliate! 

Give your face a gentle scrub to get rid of any dead skin. Usually when I do this it does remove a bit of tan but this can be reapplied the morning of the occasion as it only takes a couple of hours to develop and the excess will be showered off anyway. If you're not keen on exfoliating scrubs, The Body Shop sell Face Loofah Pads which are great for gently buffing away old skin with your regular cleanser. My Scrub Your Nose In It Review is here.

One Day To Go – Clean Your Make-up Brushes!

 The worst thing you can do is have lovely clean skin and then go wipe dirty brushes over it. Clean them the day before and leave them to air dry.

Three Hours To Go – Face Mask!

I adore face masks, and I have found nothing beats Soap and Glory 15 Minute Facial Peel to really cleanse and tighten up pores. This is ideal if you’re going out; relax with it right before you get into the bath/shower, then splash your face with cold water once it has been rinsed off. Pores will be greatly reduced – obviously they will go back to their normal size in a day or so, but this mask has been my saviour many times and I will continue to use it in the future. £7.50 for 50ml.

One Hour To Go – Primer! 

A good primer is an essential in my makeup bag. Currently I am using MAC’s Prep & Prime which creates a smooth, matte base for make-up - you can read my review here.

Forty Five Minutes To Go – Make-up! 

By this stage your skin should be prepped and buffed and looking lovely. After primer but before foundation, I like to dot a bit of concealer on my cheeks just to make sure the pores are covered; you don’t need to cake it on, just a thin layer to make sure the foundation doesn’t settle anywhere you don’t want it to. If you can get away without powder, don’t use it for now – bronzing pearls or a good powder blusher should be enough – you don’t want to start looking ‘cakey.’

I hope this hasn’t been too dull; if nothing else you have an insight into my ‘night out’ routine!

First MAC Purchase - Prep & Prime

Last week I ran out of primer - disaster!

I usually use L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer, but before I dashed out to buy a new one I happened to read a post on Pixiwoo's blog about L'Oreal testing their product ingredients on animals. So that put a stop to that - no more L'Oreal for me.

For me, a good primer is essential. It keeps my makeup in place and creates a lovely base to apply makeup on to start with. Without it I feel I am constantly dusting translucent powder over my face and I really really hate this as it makes my face feel heavy and overloaded with product.

I wasn't sure which primer to go for and out of curiosity I found myself on the MAC website. I usually shy away from MAC, primarily because I can't justify the cost, and secondly because I am by no means an expert at applying makeup so drugstore brands suit just fine.

However!

The L'Oreal primer costs me £14.29 for 15ml which yes, is a little on the expensive side but I honestly can't live without primer, it's a need more than a want. The MAC Prep & Prime was £14.50 for 15ml - hardly any difference at all so I thought 'why not?' 

It arrived last Thursday and I have been happily using it ever since.

They Say: "A light, oil-free emulsion that helps cloak visible pores while controlling oil and shine. Applies “wet” for a gentle micro-exfoliation: dries instantly to create an invisible, long-lasting natural matte finish. Ideal for the T-zone."

I Say: "I was a little worried about the 'wet' application as I read a couple of reviews (after purchase) that claimed it took forever to dry and that makeup didn't apply well over the top of it. But after using it, I can happily say it is by far a superior primer to L'Oreal and I wish I'd been aware of it a long time ago!

I apply the smallest amount to my cheeks, nose, forehead and chin - it dries instantly and leaves my skin soft and matte. It doesn't cover my pores up but it seems to 'coat' them so the foundation and concealer I apply over the the top doesn't sink into my pores and make them more visible. It really does create the best base for makeup and even my boyfriend commented on how nice my skin was looking after using it.

This has been the best £15 I have spent in a long time - it's worth the money just for the extra confidence it gives me because I know my makeup will stay looking freshly applied all day.

If you have oily skin/large pores I really cannot recommend this enough.

A definite 5 out of 5 monkeys!"

This does bring me to a dilemma though - obviously I'm not buying any more products from L'Oreal due to the animal testing, but what about the products I already own? Throw them out? Use them up then find alternatives?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this!

No7 Collection

It's crazy how one day you pay no attention to a certain brand, then a few weeks later you seem to have the entire contents of said brand spread out on your dressing table!

This has happened to me with No7 - I previously ignored it, but I think reading rave reviews about their products, combined with the £5 vouchers led to me into a No7 frenzy and I set about getting my hands on a much as I could throughout January! Here are some of the products I own...

No7 Limited Edition Spring Collection Gel Liner in Black

£10.00 £5.00 with voucher

I've never used a gel eyeliner before this; I usually stick to eyeliner pencils, pens or liquid liner. I purchased this with my last No7 voucher in January - if I'm honest, I don't think I would have paid £10 for this if I hadn't of had a voucher as it seems a lot of money for something I may or may not like. But £5 seemed reasonable to me.

 I haven't actually used this very much since I bought it. I really like the idea of a gel liner, but I don't know if it's my unsteady hand or my lack of experience, but I just haven't got to grips with it yet and I seem to end up with a bit of a smudged uneven line. I'm sure when I have a bit more time on my hands I will sit down and have another go at it, but for now I'm sticking to my trusty liquid and pencil liners.

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick in Medium

£8.00 £3.00 with voucher

This is one of the best concealers I have used and I will be repurchasing when it eventually runs out. You can see from the photo that it is well used! I rely quite a lot on concealer for under my eyes and the pores on my cheeks. I usually dot a tiny bit on before foundation and then a little bit more on top of foundation, just to make sure I get good coverage. I use either a brush or my finger, depending on how I feel, but it works just as well either way. It's creamy, blendable, and I couldn't be without it now. Definitely recommend if you haven't tried it before. 



No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser

£9.00 £4.00 with voucher

I use the hot cloth cleanser once a week as a Sunday night pampering treat and I love it. The cleanser is luxuriously thick and I look forward to massaging it in every week! The hot muslin cloth feels lovely over my face and it's just the right amount of rough to exfoliate my skin as the cleanser comes off. I don't think I would have purchased this if I hadn't read glowing reviews from other bloggers as it's just not something I would ever think to use, but I'm glad I own it. The tube is 200ml, so with only a once a week use this is going to last me months - complete and utter value for money for a mere £4. I would even repurchase at full price as £9.00 seems cheap for the lovely indulgent pampering session you get out of it!

No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner for Oily/Combination Skin

£8.00 £3.00 with voucher

There's not a lot to say about this toner other than I love it! In the past I have given up on toners because they dry my skin and leave it feeling tight. This on the other hand leaves my skin feeling fresh and soft. I do use it twice a day which may be excessive, I don't know. It has lasted two months though and I still have quarter of the bottle left as a little spreads a long way.

No7 Cleanse and Care Eye Make-up Remover

£7.75 £2.75 with voucher

This was purchased because I don't like rubbing at my eyes with makeup remover wipes and wanted something more gentle. I do quite like this remover, however, it never seems to get rid of all traces of mascara first time and I am left with a bit of panda eye after washing my face. Solution? Just go over the remaining makeup after washing! I know this would annoy a lot of people, but I don't really mind as eventually I am left with completely makeup free eyes.

No7 Awakening Eye Gel

£9.00 £4.00 with voucher

I rarely use this but when I do I'm happy with the results. If my eyes are feeling heavy/puffy from tiredness or other reasons I just dot this around my eyes before I go to bed and they feel refreshed the next day. You really only need the smallest amount - I can see this tiny tube lasting forever, so great value for money!

No7 Precision Eyeliner Brush and No7 Eyeshadow Blend & Contour Brush

Both £6.64 £1.64 with voucher

The precision eyeliner brush was bought to use with the gel liner - you can still see some of it on the brush, oops! But since I haven't mastered the gel, this brush hardly gets used. But for £1.64 I'm not complaining and I'm sure I'll get around to using it more one day.

The eyeshadow brush is great. I'm not much of a blender and contourer but this brush applies eyeshadow with no fuss. It's lovely and soft and picks up a good amount of shadow. I need more of these brushes in my life!

I've also got the No7 Total Renewal which I have reviewed here and a couple of Stay Perfect nail polishes that you can see in action in this post!

What will you be buying when the vouchers come back?

Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It Review

Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It Face Scrub and Mask 125ml

£7.40

The Face Scrub:
They Say: "A multi tasking scrub and mask marvel! Helps refine large pores and prevent blemishes.

Massage gently in circular motions, then extend out to the less clogged places on your face. Rinse well and follow with moisturiser."

I Say: I bought this on Monday on the strength of a review I read. I'm always on the hunt for good facial scrubs and I regularly chop and change so as I was coming to the end of my current cleanser I thought I would try this is out. At £7.40 it did seem a tad expensive, but Soap & Glory products do actually work really well so I didn't mind too much about the price (purchased within budget!)

It looks and smells almost identical to the Slimwear balm that I reviewed here - so don't get them mixed up! It's quite menthol but not unpleasant at all; in fact I've grown to quite like this smell! 

The texture is quite thin compared to other facial scrubs I have used, but a little spreads a long way and the consistency wasn't a disadvantage at all. The back of the tube specifies to use a pea sized amount but doesn't seem enough; a grape sized blob is the perfect amount for me to cover my entire face. The word 'scrub' in the title led me to believe it would be an exfoliator i.e. big exfoliating beads. Instead it feels like tiny grains of sand - it's not as harsh as an exfoliator, but it's also not as soft as a cleanser - I can feel the little grains on my skin but they are quite soft, if that makes sense?.

After just one use my face felt ultra clean, and very soft and smooth. I have since used this seven times since I have bought it and I really love the deep clean feeling and the matte look of my skin after use.

The Face Mask:
They Say: "Bonus! Pore purifying clay mask built-in! Just leave a thin layer on skin for 3 minutes longer for an oil-absorbing, brightening, pore cleaning mask!"

I Say: I decided to try the face mask part of it last night as my skin was feeling a bit run down and I wanted to perk it up a bit. I spread the same amount over my face as I would use if I was just cleansing then sat on the edge of the bath and timed my three minutes.

For the first 30 seconds to 1 minute there was a tingling sensation - not quite a sting, but a definite tingle! This died down and the mask began to dry slightly on my face.

After washing it off my skin was left feeling soft and looking quite matte. I wouldn't say there was too much of a difference between using it as a scrub or a mask, but I suppose the longer a product is on your skin the more of a chance it has to soak in and work its magic.

I'm thinking of stocking up on this in the 3 for 2 offer as I love the look and feel of my skin after using it!

Overall I give it 4 monkeys, because I don't think a week's use is enough to see any major pore refining differences.

Have you used this product? What do you think of it?

P.S. 

My giveaway ends in just over a week, don't forget to enter!

No7 Total Renewal Review

About a year and a half ago I was having Micro-dermabrasion treatments every six weeks because the size and visibility of my pores was making me miserable - I even went to see a doctor but they couldn't do anything. It was my boyfriend who found the clinic for me and I was so desperate I paid almost £400 in total for all of my treatments. The results were amazing; my skin is no where near as oily as it used to be and the difference in the size of my pores is 90% better - I gained a lot more confidence after these changes!

A couple of weeks ago I was at the No7 counter and I spied this:

 No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator 75ml

£11.00 (I got mine for £6.00 with a No7 voucher)

It promises to "reveal fresher, clearer, younger-looking skin, within just 4 treatments." Obviously I know this isn't going to compare to having a professional treatment but after reading thirty five star reviews on the Boots website I wanted to give it a go.

The back of the bottle tells me that micro crystals are used to sweep away dull cells to improve appearance from the very first use, and the very detailed instruction leaflet specifies that you have to massage the exfoliator in circles, starting with your forehead, then cheeks, then downward stokes over your nose and chin.

I've been using this twice a week as specified for the last four weeks. It feels a lot nicer than a regular exfoliator - the beads are more like tiny grains of sand and you only need a gentle touch to avoid the product being too harsh on your skin.

I probably use double this amount to cover my entire face and I like to scrub for a good couple of minutes to make sure I cover all areas. After rinsing the exfoliator off, it feels like I have shed a layer of skin! My pores are thoroughly cleaned out, my face has a nice glow about it and it feels silky soft to touch.

Since I started using this the condition of my skin has greatly improved - my large pores are still hanging around but at least now they given a proper deep clean out. I would buy this again without a doubt, even without a No7 voucher - I can see this tube lasting another few months so you are definitely getting value for money.

Have you tried this product? What are your thoughts on it?

Perfect Skin From The Inside

I've seen a lot of bloggers document their quest for perfect skin through various cleansing routines, different beauty treatments and plenty of makeup! While I am, of course, always on the same quest, I've decided to try a different method to get glowing skin on the outside by looking after my skin from the inside with food.

It's coming towards the end of January and it's fair to say that my poor skin is suffering - it looks dull and tired, I'm getting a few breakouts and I'm generally feeling and looking tired all the time.

I admit I'm still eating quite a lot of chocolate and snacking way too much during the day on the wrong things...this needs to change now!

After this bag of mini eggs has been demolished - which I bought today after a particularly draining day at work - I'm replacing all the rubbish with fresh fruit and vegetables and going back to three healthy meals a day. Because lets face it, eating rubbish only ends up making you feel rubbish and who wants that? We should all want to feel good about ourselves!

I'm looking foward to berries, fish, salads, homemade soup, brown rice...because in reality these are all foods that I absolutely love, I've just slipped into bad habits over the last couple of weeks and it's become all to easy to grab a bar of chocolate instead of a banana. I posted last week about going back to the gym and it seems like such a shame to be wasting all that hard work by eating the wrong things.  

So, here's to achieving better skin through eating a better diet! I'll update regularly on how it's going; if anyone else is doing anything similar I'd love to hear about it! 

Avon Night Cream Review

Avon Solutions p.m. Total Radiance Night Cream 50ml

£6.00

They Say: “Light non-greasy cream provides hydration all through the night, giving your skin a dewy glow.”

I Say: “The skin on my face, which is usually quite oily, has been so dry recently. I blame having a cold, the cold weather and the unbearably hot showers I love so much. My cheeks are the worst, they have starting to sting after I take my makeup off. Usually I try not to moisturize my face which I know is a bad idea, but it just makes my skin even oilier.

A few months ago I purchased this cream from Avon because my skin went through a dull period and I wanted something to pep it up. I've been slathering it all over my face at night, and when I wake up, it has all absorbed into my skin without creating an all over shine that I would get from a regular moisteriser. The cream looks quite thick in the photo, but it is really very light, and I would use maybe just under half of what you can see on my hand to cover my whole face generously.

It is definitely making a difference as my makeup is going on easier and is looking less cakey - this got to be a problem and even my boyfriend was noticing my poor dry skin.

The pot may not look very pretty, but the cream has a lovely scent, and for only £6, it is a total bargain and such a great product; I will definitely be re-purchasing when I run out. A well deserved 4 monkeys!”