Some ways for preventing spots

I have suffered with breakouts in the past as I didn't use any kind of skincare and my hair would often be covered in harsh chemicals that would cause spots around my hairline and I would often get them on my cheeks. I don't really suffer from breakouts now I only really get the occasional spot and I do put that down to the steps I take now to look after my skin.

First of all if you suffer from spots always keep your face clean by washing twice a day. This is especially important if you wear make up as this can clog up the pores and bring out spots. Some good products that I like to use are the Garnier Pure Range. I love their Pure Active Blackhead Scrub as I think that it leave my skin feeling smooth and my spots definitely decreased over a period of time using this product. To prevent over scrubbing your skin every other day use a cleanser such as the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-Free Make-up Remover. After this you should follow up with a toner that has salicylic acid in it, I do like the Garnier Active Purifying Toner although I have heard good things about the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Triple Action Lotion you just need to find what works better for you. Now something that I think most people with oily skin avoid is a moisturiser this is absolutely necessary to improve the overall texture of your skin as if you have dry skin the oil glands will work more to replace the lost moisture resulting in yes you guessed it more spots. I think that the Visibly Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser is great as well as the Nivea Young Control Shine! Mattifying Gel Cream.

Next is the kind of products you use in general. Try not to use overpowering shampoos and conditioners as the chemicals will get on your face and can break you out. I currently use the TIGI Superstar shampoo and conditioner as this is sulfate free and won't irritate sensitive scalps or faces which can be a reason you are breaking out. I also love lush products as they are natural and don't contain horrible chemicals like most haircare on the high street. Also, liquid foundations can be a nightmare for spot prone skin as they often contain oil which isn't any good for an oily skin type. Oil free foundations include Revlon Colourstay Foundation, Rimmel Stay Matte, Bourjois 10 hour sleep effect foundation and Revlon Age Defying Foundation.

Some tips I'm sure you've all heard. Drink plenty of water. Don't overscrub your skin it can cause irritation and more spots. Don't touch your face as any oils on your fingers will transfer to the skin. If these tips don't work go to your doctor as you can ask for over the counter creams which will help tone down acne. Please make sure you always remove make-up before going to bed as it can cause spots.

Review: Maybelline Great Lash Blackest Black Mascara

You have probably heard about this mascara at some point. It's advertised as the biggest selling mascara in the US and its been in my make-up bag for a while. It doesn't for me personally give big look at me lashes but it does separate quite well and and lengthen to some extent. If you love the false lash effect I do think that this could be built up as that is probably my favourite thing about this mascara is that you can build it up without it clumping.

Overall I think that this is a great everyday work/school mascara, but if you do have the patience this can be built up. To be honest there are better mascaras on the market for bigger lashes such as the Avon SuperShock or the No7 Extravagant Lashes.

Review: No7 Shine Free Make-up Base

This product retails for £10.25 from boots for 40ml of product. The product claims to 'keep shiny skin under control all day long, with this mattifying oil-free base. Light-reflecting particles help disguise fine lines and flaws while oil absorbing Biopol helps minimise blemishes and blot shine without blocking pores.'

As I have said in previous posts I am very much a fan of the matte look. I do have oily skin sometimes and dry on others so getting the desired matte effect can be quite hard work depending upon what my skin is like. I thought that this was going to be my holy grail primer as I thought it would help give a bit of a matte effect as well as keeping my foundation in place which is what a primer is meant for. When I first applied this product I thought I had completely the wrong product, it seemed to give me a white, scaly look on my skin and make it look as though I hadn't moisturised in quite a while. It didn't help my foundation on any easier as it just caked up on these white scaly parts so I immediately removed the product and just did my normal routine without it.

After this experience I thought I would just throw this away. However, whilst watching a beauty guru on Youtube (whose name I can't remember sorry) I found a new way to apply it. This is because she applied it over the top of her foundation to mattify any oil areas like the nose and for me strangely I get really oily on the tops of my cheeks. By applying the product over the top of my foundation I don't get a scaly look I just look like I have got naturally matte skin which I like. As for all the claims of disguising flaws it doesn't do this for me personally. I dotted over the top of a couple of very small blemishes using both of my techniques and it didn't disguise them at all nor calm down any redness.

Overall, I think that if you are looking for a primer I wouldn't really recommend this but that is just my opinion. I don't like the fact that it made it harder to apply make-up when it is supposed to make application easier. However, I do think that if maybe you find it hard to apply finishing powder or you only have a few oily places you want to mattify I do think that this is a great option as it is so easy to use as you just dot on the oily patch and rub well into the skin.

Review: Avon Supershock Macara

Supershock mascara retails from Avon for £8.00 although Avon often have buy one get one free sales among other sales where you will get this at a much cheaper price. Avon claims that this has a thickening base coat that will leave you with volumised lashes.

I have repurchased this mascara twice. Which to be honest is very rare as often I will use a mascara until it has dried out and then go to the next one, this isn't to say that they are good but I like to experiment. I have to say Supershock is probably one of my favorite mascaras ever. For around two years I didn't use anything but this. It gives a nice volumised look during the daytime but at night it can be amped up to look like false eyelashes.

The wand of this brush is very large and the bristles are quite small but the brush picks up just enough product to coat lashes evenly. The only problem with the large brush is that getting the lashes in the corners can be quite hard to do without smudging eye-make up.

I did also purchase this mascara in Intense Violet. However, the purple didn't any payout, but as it was purple it did make the whites of my eyes brighter which is good if you find your eyes can look a little yellow.

Overall, this is a great mascara that gives a false eyelash look when built up and looks fantastic throughout the day without dropping around the undereye area. I don't this this product everyday like I used to as right now I'm addicted to the L'Oreal Telescopic but for me the Avon SuperShock mascara is one of the best volumising mascaras on the market.

Review: YBF Yellow Neutralizing Powder

The YBF Yellow Neutralizing Powder retails for £18.30 from QVC. It claims to help tone down redness as well as cover up imperfections and set foundation.

I have a bit of redness in my cheeks and the only thing that seems to cover it is foundation. However, to be honest I don't really like wearing a full face of make up everyday. I do for school just because it gives me a bit more confidence but on the weekends I normally just go without make-up except for some concealer and mascara. I thought that this would be my holy grail product and that I would have finally found something that I could use daily to help calm down my redness and maybe even replace my foundation. Unfortunately it didn't really do that. I do use this product on a daily basis to set my make-up. However, for me this just is not worth the money. I didn't pay the RRP for it as I got it as part of a set but I wouldn't really recommend this except to set make-up.

Review: Sleek Palette Storm

The Sleek palettes cost £4.99 from Superdrug, inside the palette there are 12 eyeshadows. There are a selection of 4 palettes overall but I only have the Storm palette as I think that the colours inside are quite universal.

These eyeshadows don't budge I can where them all day and unlike a lot of other cheaper eyeshadows I am not left with glitter around the lower lash-line. These colours can also be great as eyeliners if you use an angled brush and dip it in a tiny bit of water. As for colours, personally I think that the selection of 4 palettes contain a great variety of colour. A good example of this is the Acid palette as the colours inside this palette are actually neon colours. However, if you are going to use this palette I would say that you need to use some sort of primer or concealer on the lids as these eyeshadows can be quite hard to remove and you don't really want to wake up with bright green eyelids. As for pigmentation it is great, I think that this is because the Sleek range seems very much geared towards darker skin tones and I can definitely see these colours showing up on any skin tone and staying true.

The packaging for me is very similar to high end brands such as Nars. This is because they do come packaged in a plastic tray. They are very sturdy and look much more expensive then they actually are. The mirror above the colour is as big as the actual palette itself. The only down-side to this palette is that it only comes with a double ended sponge tip applicator and with this amount of colour I definitely need more than just two applicators.

MeMeMe Beat the Blues Highlighter

The MeMeMe Beat the Blues highlighter retails from Superdrug for £4.99. This is supposed to be a dupe for the Benefit Highbeam which retails for around £16.50. The Beat the Blues highlighter claims to highlight areas which are applied without looking shimmery.

Do you want to get that sexy J-Lo glow? If yes then this is definitely the product for you. To be honest I had always put off buying highlighters as to be honest I do like more of a matte look. However, I did notice that whenever I used a blush that had a little shimmer my face looked brighter so I decided to make an impulse purchase whilst on holiday and get this item.

If you aren't too familiar with highlighter basically you apply them to place that you want to catch the light and be emphasised. For example, you would apply this just above the cheekbones (to give you cheek bones Naomi Campbell would be jealous of) on the cupids bow (to make you lips look plumper like Angelina Jolie's) and down the bridge of your nose (to give you a nose as great as Megan Fox'es).

I had seen this highlighter before and always thought that it just looked like a glittery nail varnish and I couldn't really understand why people were raving about it. The first time I tried it I was amazed. My skin looked perkier and fresher, this is amazing on mature skins. I put some on my mom and she she loved how she could see her cheekbones. It is not glittery at all trust me I have studied this when it is on my face and there is no glitter particles.

The applicator is like that of a nail varnish. I don't wear this product everyday as to be honest I do love looking matte, however, when I am going to parties or just looking tired this great for looking perky and pretty. If you want an understated glow all over mix a little of this in with your foundation as it really does brighten the skin. Or you can use this if you have the perfect foundation great colour great coverage but you don't like how matte it makes your skin as this will help you achieve that dewy effect.

Overall, this is a great product that I know I will use for years to come.

Review: MeMeMe PussyCat Cheek and Lip Tint

The MeMeMe retails for £4.99 from Superdrug, it is designed to give the cheeks and lips a flush of colour. This is a dupe for the Benetint by Benefit which retails for £23.50.

To be honest I both love and hate this product. I don't like this product because on the lips it makes it look as though you have biting on your lips. The product seems to dry out my lips. Also, the smell is not the nicest thing on the lips as well as this the taste isn't the nicest thing. Therefore, if you are planning to use this mainly as a lip stain I wouldn't really recommend this.

Now, as a cheek stain this is one of my favorite products for a rosy glow kind of look. It is so lovely and is not at all drying like it is on the lips. Also, I don't notice the smell as obviously the lips are by the nose therefore, the smell is much more obvious on the lips.

Overall, this is a brilliant cheek product and definitely stays put as well as giving the cheeks a nice bit of colour. It is not such a good lip product and so I wouldn't recommend it for that.

Review: Revlon Colourstay (Combination/Oily)

Revlon claims that this foundation will look fresh for up to 16hours and will feel as though you aren't wearing any foundation at all. I never regularly wear make-up for a long period of time as I apply it at 7:00am and don't take it off until around 10:30, so I definitely gave this a good text drive. I think it holds up very well and although it had worn away a little by 10:30 I still had a little coverage. It also claims to be medium to high coverage and is specially formulated to keep oiliness and shine at bay for the duration of wearing it. What I love about this product is that even when it has worn away it still give the skin an almost flawless look as shine is kept at bay without leaving the skin looking dull. The price is £11.99 (although it can often be found for much cheaper) for 30 ml of product.

I apply this product using a damp make-up sponge. I use it damp as the coverage of this foundation is very high. Also, the Colourstay foundation is notorious for being hard to work with and blend. However, even when I use this foundation without a wet sponge I still find it pretty easy to use. What I recommend is only getting a small amount of product and working with one area of the face at a time. Don't, like you would with other foundations, dot this around the face and then blend. This will not work as this foundation is very quick drying and so the dots will dry and you will look very strange as once this is dry you won't be able to blend it.

Overall, I think that this foundation is probably one of the best on the market. It is often compared to the MAC Studio Fix and although I have never tried this product I can definitely see why this foundation is always getting excellent things said about it. Revlon makes some of the best foundations from all drugstore brands it is a brand I would recommend to everyone.

Review: NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Pink Cheek Glow

NYC Color Wheel Mosaic claims to reduce shine and oil in the cheeks as well as giving the complexion a brightening effect. It definitely does stop any shine on the cheeks, therefore, I wouldn't recommend this during the winter when you may want more of that dewy effect. However, if like me you want a matte effect on your face on certain days and what not then this is the product for you.

Although it does give a matte effect it does have a bit of shimmer shot through it. This means that the face doesn't look as flat and I think this is the brightening effect that they talk about. As for pigmentation this product is quite pigmented depending upon where you put your brush. It is very easy to go overboard with, but if you use a brush that isn't densely packed with bristles this will lessen the chance of going overboard.

Overall, this is a great little blusher and I am going to get the bronzer and highlight as I think they are a steal at £3.99 as to be honest this probably last me forever.

Review: Telescopic Clean Definition by L'Oreal.

L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition claims to lengthen lashes by up to 50%. I can definitely vouch for that my lashes are amazingly long with this mascara. Also, it claims that the high precision flexible brush defines and separates lashes one by one helping to give a fanned out effect. To be honest I did find that some of my lashes clumped but this happened a lot less then with other mascaras. To be honest I have never really had a mascara that hasn't clumped my lashes.

I chose the L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition in Black and I bought mine from Boots for £9.99. The colour of this mascara is very dark. Therefore, if you find that some mascaras just aren't pigmented enough for you eyelashes this one is perfect. The brush is very long and thin the bristles oddly are very short. However, because they were short the mascara seemed to glide the lashes much easier. As the bristles are so thin the wand doesn't actually pick up a lot of the solution. However, this does make the mascara much easier to build up. I didn't curl my lashes before using this mascara as I always seem to forget and end up curling them after. This did seem to help keeping a curl in. Overall this is a very good mascara I will probably repurchase it. The only thing that would stop is that I have an obsession of always having to buy a different mascara every time one runs out so that I don't feel like I'm missing out.

Face of the week: Golden Goddess Cheeks

To be honest I never really used to bother with my cheeks as I have high redness in my cheeks as it is and I didn't really want to add to this. However, now i realise that if you use the right blush it can actually help to hide the redness and instead give a nice pinch of colour and lift the whole appearance of you face. The products I used on my cheeks for this look were the NYC color (American product, American spelling) wheel mosaic face powder in pink cheek glow, Revlon Colourstay Foundation in 150 Buff (mine is the one for oily-combination skin), MeMeMe Beat the Blues in Sun Glow, MeMeMe undereye bright and light concealer in 02 and lastly YBF Yellow Pressed Powder

Firstly, we need to use a good foundation for this make up look I used Revlon Colourstay and used a sponge applicator that I'd slightly wet to make the make-up slightly easier to apply and to lighten the heavy coverage a little. Next use the NYC colour wheel in Pink Cheek Glow on the apples of the cheeks and slightly bring it up to the hairline. To apply the blush I used the elegant touch fluffy brush as the hair is not densely packed so I don't have to worry about picking up too much product. Next we are going to use the Beat the Blues by MeMeMe. Dot the product above your cheekbone all the way from the hairline to the apple of the cheek. Blend this in well, this will give the dewy glow that we are going for. To set the products use the YBF yellow pressed powder, this will help to bring down some of the blush colour to give the cheeks more of a pinky pinched look. By using a pressed powder your make-up should last all day making this look perfect for when you need make-up all day and not just for a couple of hours.

Face of the week: Golden Goddess Eyes

The following are all of the products we are going to be using. These are all of the products I used on my face and eyes.

As for brushes we are going to be using two: of of these being a large fluffy brush (mine is from Elegant Touch) the other is the sponge applicator that comes with all eyeshadow. That's right no professional eyeshadow from MAC we are going to do all eyeshadow work like contouring with our fingers and sponge applicators. In this tutorial I am only going to be showing you how to do the eyes. In the next tutorial I will show you how to get the glowy cheek that I am wearing also.

Here is what I look like before and after the make-up. I have no make-up on in the photo on the above and you can the massive difference the make-up has made to my face.

First of all what you want is to apply a eyeshadow base. For a cheaper alternative to Urban Decay Primer Potion what I used is the No7 brighten eyeshadow primer. Or if you don't want to buy a separate eyeshadow base just use some concealer. Next what you want to do is apply a light gold colour (3rd from right top row) all over the lid don't go up to the eyebrow just keep the colour concentrated on the lid. All of the eyeshadow I used was from this Sleek Palette. Next apply a darkish brown colour (2nd from right on the bottom row). Apply this colour on the crease especially focusing on the outer corner. Then blend these colours together with your index finger. Don't blend so that the colour is washed away just enough to get rid of any harsh lines. Next apply a shimmery dark brown (1st on the left on the bottom row), just apply a very small amount of this, by doing this it will help to give your eye shape much more definition. Then as a highlight use the colour second from left on the top row. Use this just on the inside corner.

As we didn't use the gold as a colour wash all over the eyelid we need to use a very light highlight. What I used was the MeMeMe Beat the Blues in 01 Sun Dream. use this from the gold colour all the way up to the eyebrow. This will give you a beautiful shimmer effect when it catches the light. On my eyebrows I used the YBF eyebrow pencil from QVC I only wanted a little definition to lift the shape of my face. Finally apply lashings of mascara, I used the Telescopic Clean Definition by L'Oreal.

I only wanted this look to be quite light for day time and perfect for the upcoming hot weather. If you want to make it more suitable for nighttime use an eyeliner in the waterline and close to the upper lashes. A good pencil eyeliner is the Avon GlimmerSticks in Black.

Review: Neutrogena Wave

Please note that with all skincare products how they work on myself may differ to the kinds of results you get.

The Neutrogena Wave comes with 2 weeks worth of pads (I will only use this every other day so for me that will be a months worth). It also comes with a battery to power the little machine. I paid £4.99 for mine refills vary from £3.99 to around £5.00. On the back of the box it has full instructions on how to use the product.

I have always considered myself to have quite good skin. I never really suffer from breakouts and when I do they are normally gone within a week. During the winter my skin is very dry around my mouth and cheeks and oily on my t-zone. However, now that it is spring and it isn't quite as cold as it has been my skin has gone back to being combination-oily. I do have quite a strict skin care regime as there is nothing worse then getting a spot. However, even with all the different products I use I still notice that the surface of my skin especially my cheeks and neck is quite bumpy. You wouldn't really notice this to look at my skin but to touch there are bumps. Therefore, I was quite curious about the Neutrogena Wave. My way of thinking is that if it is vibrating on these bumps it might bring whatever bacteria is in the bumps to the surface.

I was in my local Superdrug and I finally decided to take the plunge. Before using I removed all my make-up with a wipe and I didn't want it to clean off my make-up I wanted it to clean my skin. The feeling on the skin is quite strange it feels as though it is giving the pores a good deep clean. Afterwards the bumps on my skin had reduced greatly. I'm not saying that they disappeared completely but they were definitely reduced. The surface of my skin now is very smooth. Also, it didn't promise to reduce the look of pores the ones on my cheeks have all but vanished making foundation application easy.

To use stick a pad onto the machine and then turn on the machine whilst holding it under a running tap. Then what I did was run it in rings all over my face, concentrating especially on oily areas such as the T-Zone, or problem areas such as where you get unevenness.

I would recommend this to anyone who suffers with spots. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone with dry on sensitive skin and I do have quite a sensitive patch of skin right next to my mouth and I could see this irritating it. I would say if you have no skin care regime you would love this product as it will leave your skin so smooth. If you do have a good skin care regime but were maybe suffering from the same problems as me I could also see you benefitting from this. The only thing I wish was different was the colour as I am not the biggest fan of pink, maybe a jade green lol.

Cheap Products Worth Trying

All of the products I am mentioning are things that I have bought recently and have enjoyed and can recommend. First of all I think that the Superdrug own brand face masks are amazing. They come in 4 different formulas and I have 2. I bought them on a buy one get one free and they retail at £1.99 each. Very cheap for the quality. The pink tube contains a Raspberry Exfoliating Mud Mask, the green tube contains an Aloe Vera Deep Cleansing Mud Mask. You leave the masks on for 10 minutes each and then wash off you will be left with glowing skin. I recommend to use these masks once a week. One week I will use the Aloe, the next I will use the Raspberry, or I will use whatever I think my skin needs the most. Personally, I prefer the Aloe Vera mask to the Raspberry as I like the fresh, clean smell that it has.

The other product I would like to mention is Carmex Lip Balm. It retails for £2.49 and the strangest thing pushed me to buy it. I get spots around the edge of my mouth, and this product contains salicylic acid which is a proved spot fighter. I was a little nervous as all spot products I have used were very drying and the whole point of a lip balm is to moisturise. I bought this product anyway and I have not regretted it. It's not dry at all. For the first time ever my lips are smooth and for me the best thing is that fact that it is in a tube. I hate pots such as Vaseline because I always end up with the product stuck under my somewhat long finger nails. Carmex is also great because lipgloss and lipstick can glide over the top, however, if you don't want to wear either put on a thick layer of Carmex and it will look like a high shine clear lipgloss.

Top 5 Nails Inc Colours

As I have a lot of Nails Inc products I thought it would be a fun idea to tell you which five I am always wearing and are my definite favourites. I just want to say that I feel it is important to wear a top and base coat with all of these nail varnishes as they are packed full of colour and may stain your nails. The top and base coat I recommend is definitely the Caviar top and base coat. The top coat is called 45 seconds and it dries my nails in about 30 seconds so if you hate how long your polish takes to dry then this is the product for you. Other colours I want to give a quick mention to are Jermyn Street (lovely taupe shot through with silver almost made the list) and Victoria Street (beautiful soft silver colour that won't make you feel as thought you are putting metal on your nails gorgeous everyday colour)

1. Aspen- its a pretty satin red colour that I just think is perfect at any time of the year if you want something for a formal occasion to me this is the little black dress of nail colour.

2. Hanover Street- great electric blue colour very close second to Aspen. Whenever I wear this colour people always comment. I think it would be great on the toes in flip flop season.

3. Victoria- the colour isn't given justice in the picture its a plummy black colour. Again lovely talking point. If your someone who loves dark just off black colours you will love how much depth this has.

4. Bond Street Lights- To be honest I don't know whether they still make this colour, but if manage to get your hands on it, it is the most beautiful shimmer I have ever come across. When I wore this (around Christmas time) everyone said my nails were like discoballs. Love, Love, Love this colour the reason it doesn't get higher is because it is sooo hard to remove I don't get this problem with other Nails Inc products but with this I do.

Brand Rave: Nails Inc

Nails Inc is by far my favourite nail company. I have yet to find a bad colour, they are a very innovative British brand and are constantly updating their colour selection. The RRP of these colours are £10 each, I know pretty steep but if you go into House of Fraser most of their stores will have a Nails Inc section they will often have a little selections of colours for a price lower than the RRP. For example, the first Nails Inc set I bought was from Nails Inc it included 6 colours and a top and base coat. All of this was for £30 this comes to just £3.75 a bottle which is just as cheap as a drugstore brand but much better quality. Also, the shopping channel QVC offers sets of Nails Inc varnishes for low prices.

Now to why I like Nails Inc. At school I am pretty much known for my nails I change them every other day and I take good care of my hands and nails through moisturising and nail oils. For me cheaper brands tend to chip much quicker and as soon as I see one chip I absolutely have to remove the polish from all my nails (I know its a bit obsessive). I have been Nails Inc now for just over a year. I have 23 (21 of these being colours) of their products and all of them are unusual colours. Not only are the colours special but so are the formulas, I can wear one of their colours for a week without one chip (although I don't do this often because I get bored of wearing a colour for more than 3 days). Also, the nail varnish dries so quick its amazing.

Overall if you are a newbie to painting your nails I would definitely recommend Nails Inc you will never go back I promise you!!!

My Haircare Routine

I have tried a lot of haircare routines as I find it very difficult to control my frizz prone hair. This is a picture of how my hair looks on a day to day basis. Since the photo was taken my hair has grown a little but it is still in the same style. The following are the products I use every other day as I don't shampoo every day.

Firstly I use the Tigi Bed Head Shampoo and Conditioner for Thick Massive Hair. Does it give me thick massive hair no but I love the feeling it gives my hair and my hair always seems to have a bit more bounce when I use these products. I have to admit these products are quite expensive but for me they work and I am willing to spend. I bought my shampoo and conditioner together for £20, they are 750ml each and to be honest this is no exaggeration but they will probably last me a year. I got them a bit cheaper than they should be because I got them from the Clothes Show which is an annual event near my home in Birmingham. If your hair dry I would definitely recommend the Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner as I always use them when I feel as though my hair needs a little TLC.

After shampooing and conditioning I then use my Tresemme Heat Defence Styling Spray. This is quite a new addition to my haircare routine. I noticed that I'd been getting a lot of split ends recently which is something that I never get. For some reason I have never gotten along with Tresemme products they seem to make my hair either greasy or dry. However, whilst stay in over at a friends she shampooed my hair with the Tresemme Salon Silk and my hair didn't react to bad so after all of my friends recommended this heat defence I thought I would give it a go. To be honest the main reason I tried it was because it was on sale, but I'm glad I did I have not had any split ends since using this. I'm not saying to mends split ends I'm saying that if you get a lot of them get a trim and them use this as it can help prevent them.

I then use the John Frieda Straightening Potion. I have used this for about 3 years now, and I like it a lot. I didn't really appreciate until I stopped using it and my hair was so hard to straighten. I would recommend it for those how blow dry their hair straight as I think that this helps to smooth down flyaways.

My last product is the John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum. Again love this product, I can't use a lot of serums as they tend to weigh my hair down but I find this to be a wonder product. I'm not going to lie my hair is still a bit fluffy after blow drying but i don't have any frizzies after straightening and I think that this is down to this serum.

After this I blow dry my hair depending upon how straight I want my hair I use either a paddle brush or a large round brush. I use a small round brush to get my layers around my face. The hairdryer I use is the Tresemme Phillips Salon Smooth. I then section off my hair and straighten my hair with GHD's. I have used cheaper brands but for me nothing is like GHD. I only use them for straightening because although I have had mine for 3 years I still can't get the hang of curling with them.

Product Rave:Rimmel Stay Glossy

I bought my Rimmel Stay Glossy in 260 My Eternity. On my lips it comes out as quite a nice neutral pink, however, this may depend upon how pigmented your lips are. The price ranges from around £5-£6.50 for 5.5ml of product. On the package it claims to stay glossy for up to six hours, hence the name. The lipgloss does have a doefoot applicator (spongy thing) instead of a brush I know that a lot of people prefer to have a brush applicator but I don't really mind for a product of this quality.

I have tried a lot of lipglosses, to be honest most of them last 10 minutes if that. I have always been more of a lipstick kind of girl as I only really make my lips a focal point if I am going out. For school I normally just put on some Carmex Lip Balm.

Despite my reservations I did buy a Rimmel Stay Glossy lipgloss as I thought it would be great in the day over the top of my Carmex. This is honestly the best lipgloss I have ever tried. I don't know whether it quite lasts for six hours but I would definitely say that it lasts over 3 hours. I think that for a drugstore product this is very reasonable. As for drying out lips I don't think that it does but maybe this depends upon how well you look after your lips. I have used it without my Carmex under it and it doesn't slide off it sits nicely on top. I am very pleased with the lipgloss and I will be buying it in more colours.

Tag: Products I Regret Buying

As this is my first post I just wanted to begin with some fun posts that I have seen on YouTube. Please remember that these are just my own thoughts on products, if you have any questions about a product feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

The first product I regret buying is the Boots No7 quick cover concealer in 05 medium. There are a couple of reasons that I dislike this product the main being how much it cakes on my face. To be honest I don't really have too many blemishes but I do have two red splodges (for lack of a better word) on my face. I think they must be broken capillaries. I do admit that they are quite hard to cover but I quite like products that slightly cover them so I never really have very high hopes for concealer. No matter what I did with this it almost seemed to oxidise throughout the day so that I looked like I had orange spots, not a good look. Another reason I don't like this product is that it is waaaay too dark for me. I do have quite light skin that I find hard to match but the lady at the Boots counter recommended this as I apparently have yellow undertones hmm I must've misheard yellow for orange.

The second product I regret buying is the Avon MorphTones Range of Rose eyeshadow. I do not think that they stock this anymore, thankfully. There is one reason that I hate this product it creases like no-ones business. I had such high hopes for this eyeshadow as in the past I have had great experiences with cream shadows but not with this one. I didn't use it with an eyeshadow primer but I honestly have never had an eyeshadow crease on me before.

The third product I regret buying is the Avon Astonishing Lengths mascara (I do love a lot of Avon products but these just haven't performed for me). I found the solution to be very wet, I do like some wet mascaras as they are easy to build but this one almost clung to me lashes whilst not actually doing much for length, the only thing it did was smudge onto my undereye, leaving my friends wondering if I had done an all nighter (actually a few of them asked if I had slept in a month) obviously this wasn't the desired effect. Also, the mascara seemed to make my eyelashes break. I know this sounds odd but its the truth, I persevered with the product for two weeks and by the end of my trial my eyelashes were left in stumps.

The fourth product I regret buying is the Maybelline Kohl Express waterproof eyeliner. Main reason I didn't like this product was that it wasn't waterproof at all. On the couple of days I had wore it it smeared off throughout the day, it came into absolutely no contact with water. I'm not one to rub my eyes ever I've never really had the habit so I know I didn't rub it off. Overall, very disappointed I used to use a lot of Maybelline but of late I haven't I don't find their quality too good to be honest.


The fifth and last product (I hope) that I regret buying is the Barry M Sky Blue Lengthening mascara. A couple of my friends swear by using blue mascara to brighten up the whites of their eyes. I had used a navy colour a few times before but fancied trying Barry M for the first time (the bright colours had always scared me off). The sky bly colour doesn't transfer to my lashes at all. It just seems to leave a sticky gloop of blue-black mascara behind but even that isn't noticeable. It doesn't lengthen my lashes whatsoever, I did use a white primer from a Maybelline mascara waited for this to dry and then applied this mascara over the top. What was I left with? White eyelashes for some reason the colours of these mascaras just don't transfer. Conclusion nice idea, poorly executed.