Makeup Menu: Springtime

Of all the new make up releases throughout the year, I always get most excited about what different brands are releasing in time for Spring.  Although I'm yet to properly check out this Springs new releases, now that the weather is slowly getting warmer I've been switching up my make up routine to incorporate a few past spring/summer releases as well as things that I've bought recently.

I picked up the Boots No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter last summer, along with one of the cream blush sticks, and later a lovely bronzing highlighter.  I definitely reach for this one most often though. The subtle nude/pink with a slight shimmer really does perk up my complexion without it being too much, and it stays put all day.  I love teaming this with Benefit's Lollitint for a fresh, natural look that's perfect for spring.  The Bourjois Happy Light serum is a relatively new edition, but something I've really been enjoying using.  I like to mix a bit with my foundation to add a very slight glow to my skin making me look more awake; perfect for those early starts at work! I'm a big fan of cream eyeshadows and Maybelline's On and On Bronze is the latest addition to my collection.  This really pretty golden bronze shade works really well as a base for other shadows, but works just as well on it's on for a hint of colour on the lids when you haven't got time to go all out with different colours. This Bourjois Shine Edition lipstick in Rose Xoxo is a lovely lilacy pink shade that's still very wearable and natural, yet just that bit different from my usual nude/pink shades.  Finally, Benefit's latest release, Roller Lash has quickly become a firm favourite amongst many a blogger, and I'm no exception. I find it gives me lovely, curly, fluttery lashes without the dreaded 'spider lashes' look and comes off easily enough at the end of the day.

What products will you be adding to your makeup routine this Spring?

No7 Beautiful Skin Radiance Exfoliator

 As far as skin types go, my skin is definitely on the dry side.  It's usually pretty manageable, but if I get lazy with my skincare routine my skin does get dry, and my forehead and nose in particular, become quite flaky.   This is even more apparent with the weather we're having lately; cold wind and central heating can take its toll and my skin has been looking dry and dull.  This is nothing that can't be kept under control buy keeping up with a good skincare routine and this exfoliator is definitely a valuable part of that.  I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of No7's Beautiful Skin range, and I actually think it's a range that is quite underrated.  The products are all of great quality, they look good and they're brilliant value for money, especially with the £5 vouchers that seem to be around more than ever lately.

I'm quite cautious of super "scrubby" exfoliators on my face, such as the St Ives scrubs.  I've never used them personally, but from what I've read online they do seem particularly harsh  and I'm not keen to use something like that on my skin and in all honesty, I don't really need to anyway.  This scrub by No7, despite being really gentle, does all the exfoliating I need it to.  It certainly isn't jam-packed with exfoliating particles, in fact there seems to be hardly any visible pink grains at all.  That said, I can still feel them working as I massage the product into my skin, and upon rinsing away, any dry or flaky patches are gone and I'm left with really smooth, clear skin that actually feels really nice and soft to the touch. It also has a nice, delicate almost floral scent to it, nothing too over powering or artificial which is good for those amongst us who don't like heavily scented products on the face.  This scrub is aimed to those of us with dry skin, though I believe No7 also do a version for more oily skin types.  I'd definitely suggest giving this ago if your skin leans more towards the drier side of things.  It's very gentle, so I'd say it's certainly worth a look if you're worried about a harsher scrub affecting your skin. 

Boots No7 melting gel cleanser

  
I was considering purchasing the Clarins equivalent of this cleansing gel, but as it was the end of the month and therefore I was a little skint, I decided to go for the No7 as I couldn't wait til payday to clean my face!  This cleanser formed the basis of my skincare overhaul, something I needed to do as I'd been getting very lazy with my skincare routine.  When I wasn't being lazy I'd use No7's hot cloth cleanser, which has been a staple of mine for a couple of years, but as everyone's going mad for 'double cleansing' lately, I decided to use this in addition to get my own double cleansing experience.

The cleanser comes in typical No7 packaging, very basic and no-frills, but doesn't look at all cheap or tacky.  It's just a simple white plastic tube with a pink cap.  It's priced at £9, more than half the price of the Clarins cleanser, and can be bought even cheaper when No7 have their £5 vouchers (I got a voucher the other day actually...) out.

As the name would suggest, this cleanser is of a gel consistency, that when massaged into the skin transforms into an oil.  Upon contact with water, it turns into a more creamy consistency which you then rinse away.  I tend to massage the gel into dry skin; (apparently this is how you're meant to cleanse your face, none of that damp skin malarkey!). The oil does make your skin feel kind of heavy, but this loosens as soon as I add a bit of water.  All in all, it actually feels quite nice and soothing. I continue to massage this into my skin before taking a hand-hot flannel and massaging away.  The flannel feels much more luxurious than a muslin cloth and also gives the smallest amount of exfoliation.

 I'd say it removes about 90% of my makeup.  Unfortunately it isn't designed to remove eye-makeup; it made my eyes sore when I tried to remove my mascara! My skin does feel clean and soft after use so it's not all bad.  I've now switched to using this as my morning cleanser and it leaves my skin feeling soft and fresh, and ready to start the day.

Favourite Glitter Polishes

 I'm a massive fan of glitter nail polish and believe everyone should have at least a couple amongst their stash of nail colours.  Even one glitter polish can double the amount of looks you can create with your collection.  They can be applied as a top coat to add subtle sparkle, or with a few coats to each nail for a more dramatic look, perfect for parties.  Add to that accent nails, or gradient glitter effects, there's so many possibilities.  I have a few of these glittering beauties in my own collection and thought it'd be fun to share some of my favourites with you.  These aren't in any order, because let's face it, it was hard enough to choose five without putting them in order too!

No7 gold glitter top coat

This was part of No7's limited edition range last summer, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on this and the silver one.  I love them both, but have had more use out of this one.  This makes a brilliant topcoat over pretty much any colour.  Here it is over Essie's Aruba Blue. I wore this combination to a masquerade party earlier this year (my dress and shoes were blue and accessories gold) and got loads of compliments.  Definitely one of my all-time favourite nail looks!

Nails Inc Chelsea Square

This is a relatively recent addition to my collection, but nevertheless it's shot straight into my top five.  As soon as the lovely Tor from That's Peachy featured it in a blog post, I fell in love with it and ordered it that night.  It's a beautiful coppery pink colour and is perfect for Autumn. Here I've teamed it with Rimmel's Pro in Beige Babe, with just a light coating of Chelsea Square over the top.

Barry M Amethyst Glitter

This was part of a collection that came out late last year.  I abolutely love the colours in this; turquoise, purple, gold, pink and black small hexagonal glitter suspended in a clear base.  As you can see, I've applied this one in two ways; as a top coat for Topshop's Threadbare, and then did two coats for an opaque look.  

Nails Inc Connaught Square

This one is a definite to be applied all over the nail.  It's absolutely jam packed with small blue glitter and larger purple glitter.  I usually do 3 coats of this, though can get away with two if I'm in more of a rush.  I also have another one from this collection, Bloosmbury Square, which is small purple and large pink glitter.  I love them both, but Connaught Square just swings it for me.

Technique Carnival

I think most of you will recognise it as the famous dupe from the OPI Muppet's collection.  I picked this up in Bodycare for a Bargainous £1.99.  This mix of large and small multicoloured glitter looks great with pretty much any nail polish.  I'd normally wear this with a paler colour, but to add a bit of variety I've teamed it with Accessorize's Heart Beat nail polish.

Nails Inc Devonshire Street

I received this dinky little bottle in gift set last Christmas. It's a silver glitter, but is a bit more muted than most silvers I've seen before, it's almost champagne like in colour really.  Again this could be applied all over the nail and built up to a full-on glitter look, or as a top coat like I've done here.  I've applied Essie's Cocktail Bling underneath for a real wintery looking combination. Definitely one for the festive season!

What are your favourite glittering beauties?! Do you own any of these? Any you'd recommend? Let me know!

Skincare Update

I'm sure I've mentioned that I'm currently overhauling my skincare routine, and after making a few more additions today, I thought I'd give you all a sneek peek into what I'm using at the moment while it's looking all tidy in its new storage which I picked up from TKMaxx for £9.99. They do briliant storage bits I've discovered, it took me forever to decided which basket to pick up and I'll be going back for more I'm sure!

 

As you can see, I've built up a bit of a collection! I've a fair few cleansers on the go; I've been using the No7 hot cloth cleanser for a few years now and I'm still in love with it. The other No7 cleanser is the melting gel cleanser which is a bit of a dupe for the Clarins gel cleanser. I'll be reviewing this soon so keep an eye out for that.  My trusty L'Oreal micellar water is tucked in at the back there and we also have my Champneys cleansing balm, which I am yet to try out. It's supposed to be very exfoliating so I'm looking forward to giving that a go shortly.  Lastly for cleansers, there's my newest addition, the Clinique cleansing balm.

My face scrub of choice is again from No7 and is another product I've bought mulitple times. I use this about twice a week but this may change with the addition of the Champneys balm.  I have the Una Brennan tea tree mask which I turn to if my pores are a bit clogged, and I've just bought the Origins overnight mask for use when my skin is feeling dry.There's also my Sanctuary toner which I reviewed here so I won't go into detail about that, and my No7 day and night creams. Lastly I'm currently using two eye creams, yet another product from No7, as well as my new Origins GinZing eye cream.

I also stocked up on some flannels while in Primark.  I followed the rather amazing Caroline Hirons' advice regarding cleansing and got myself enough for each day, with a couple of spares. If you've not checked out her blog, then I highly reccommend you do if you have any skincare queries. Like I've said, some of these products I'm yet to try out.  I don't like to overload my skin with too many new things at once, I'd much rather introduce things gradually, see if they work for me, then add something else in at a later date. 

Obviously the little Rhino isn't part of my routine, I just thought he looked cute perched on top of my flannels! And yes, that's me in the photo, I'm the one in the grey and pink dress in case you were wondering!

What's in my Overnight Beauty Bag?

My boyfriend and I recently went away for the evening, nowhere far, just out for a nice meal then stayed over in a hotel.  He's in the Army and is currently on leave, and since we don't get very much time together, we thought it'd be nice just to have a little alone time, with just us and no interruptions.

The bag itself came with a No7 Christmas gift set a  good few years ago now, but it is one of my favourite toiletries bags, and trust me, I have a few! I love the colour, and the pattern inside, and also the two sections inside are clear so you can see exactly where everything is.

As I had to work the day we were due to go, a hair wash when we arrived was essential! I used my mini Organix shampoo and conditioner, which I'm a big fan of.  I like how they're a bit bigger than the usual travel size shampoos you get, so they last much longer. The spray bottle you can see contains some of my Amargan protect and shine spray, and I finished off my hair with my Lee Stafford Argan Oil serum. For shower gel I opted for The Body Shop's Satsuma body wash.  This stuff smells amazing! The scent really lingers in the bathroom afterwards too.  I also took the accompanying body butter in Jolly Orange

For skincare, I took my trusty L'Oreal Micellar Water. I didn't bother decanting this into anything smaller as although the bottle is quite large, it's a pretty compact shape. It also tones which is one less thing to take. The miniature Benefit face wash is pretty much empty, and the moisturiser now contains my usual No7 day cream. I was a bit naughty and didn't take any night cream. I had nothing to decant my usual one into, so decided that for one night, I'd just use the day cream again.

I based the makeup on my five minute face look I blogged about not too long ago, but added a few bits to make it more of an evening look.  The Benefit primer is a relatively new purchase, and I'm still making my mind up as to what I think of it. I changed the foundation to my Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua, as it's more of a compact size for travelling.  I usually prefer a bit more coverage for an evening, but with the primer it was fine.  I kept cheeks and lips the same, but took a few extra bits to define my eyes, including my Benefit Brow-Zings palette.  For eye shadow I used my Soap and Glory palette in 'What's Nude' which is a really handy size for travelling, and lined my eyes with a Maybelline felt tip liner.  I also took my mini They're Real mascara by Benefit.  Lastly the nail varnish you see is from Accessorize and is called Amethyst.  This was already on my toes and just took it to go over any chips as I was wearing sandals, which is a bit lazy but we've all done it I'm sure...!

It does seem a lot to take for just the one night, but I really don't know how I could condense it further.  This little lot could probably last for a longer trip too, but like everyone else, the longer the trip, the more makeup I pack!