Eight Most Worn Things | Tag

The lovely Hollie from missjammyxo tagged me to do this so I thought I would give it a whirl!

1. Most Worn Lipstick/ Lip Gloss:

 It has to be MAC's 'Girl About Town.' I don't wear lipstick much, because I find it to be a hassle, but the long wear time and beautiful colour of this mean it's a product I reach for this a hell of a lot over other products. I can eat meals and drink drinks and this will still be on my lips! If I can't be bothered to do anything with my eyes, I just slap this on.

2. Most Worn Earrings:

Like lipstick, I don't wear earrings much. I always plan to get into wearing them more, but it's just too much for me to remember. But these have been worn quite a bit by me. They were from Topshop about six months ago.

3. Most Worn Top

I bought this three of four years ago in Urban Outfitters and have worn it consistently ever since.

4. Most worn nail polish:

I'm cheating here. But Essie's 'Fiji' and Deborah Lippmann's 'I love the Nightlife' are soo different. I use them in different ways. Essie is a summery colours while 'I Love the Nightlife' is perfect in the winter over the top of a dark grey nail polish.

5. Most worn shoes:

Converse High tops in cream. I've been living in these shoes since I was eleven (not this actual pair, multiple pairs throughout the years). They're so easy to wear every day. I envy girls who can trot around heels every day because that is never, ever going to be me :(

6. Most worn hair product:

This one was easy because it's the only product I use on my hair other than oils. It gives volume and stops your hair going greasy as quickly, but leaves your hair feeling HORRIBLE.

7. Most worn perfume:

I got this over a year ago and still love it. It's sweet, which is what I like. But I think you either love this perfume or hate it.

8. Most worn bag:

I got this in TKMAXX and it ticked all of the boxes for my requirements in a bag. I love the gold hardware, the style of the leather, and the little phone holder on the inside!

I Tag you all to do this :D

How much does your face cost?

[Incase you care: Long time, no post. Sorry, I'm a week or so into a month of holidaying and have been pretty rubbish and getting onto here. I have a couple of posts written up so will be trying to post them at least once a week]


I remember reading a few of these posts perhaps a year or so ago and thought they were interesting. Now that I am into this whole blogging thing, I thought I'd give it a whirl...


Makeup:
Face:
-Primer: Benefit Porefessional: £2*
-Foundation: Revlon Photoready, £12.99
-Concealer: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer: £4.29
-Bronzer/highlighter: Sleek Contour Kit: £6.49
-Blush: Nars Gaiety £21.00
-Powder: Natural Collection Pressed Powder: £1.99
-Lipstick: Topshop Lipstick in Crystal: £9


Eyes:
-Primer: MUA Eyelid primer: £2.50
-Eyeshadows: Naked Palette and Naked 2:  £35 & £36: £71
-Eyebrows: Illamasqua Brow Cake: £14
-Eyeliner: Maybelline Gel Liner: £7.99
-Eyeliner: Look Beauty Eye Brightener: £2
-Mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama: £12.95**
-Mascara 2: Bourjois Coup de Theatre: £9.49
Total: £177.69


Brushes:


-Real Techniques Buffing, Concealer and Contour brush from the Core Collection: £21.99
-MAC 239: £19
-MAC 217: £16
-MAC 210: £16
-No. 7 Concealer Brush: £7.25
-Eco Tools Powder Brush & Angled Liner Brush (from set) : £15.99
-No. 7 Smokey Eye Brush: £7
-No. 7 Brow Brush: £1.50***
Total: £104.73
Combined total: £282.42


I can't say I'm surprised by this number because I do sometimes get the nagging feeling that I've spent a sickening amount of money on makeup. It's also worrying that this is a small percentage of the makeup I own. However, I don't think it's TOO terrible. The brushes will last me years, and I see them as investments. Some of the makeup products, like the Naked palettes will also last me a long time. My Illamasqua Brow Cake doesn't look like it's been touched and I've been using it everyday for six months, so it's with me for the long haul! Some of these items will last me years, and some a couple of months. So I'll do some random maths in my head and say that this £280= a year's worth of makeup. £280 seems like a reasonable (low) amount to spend on makeup in a year. HAS MY MIND BEEN WARPED? In a dream world, I would cut down my makeup to maybe twenty essential items. But that's not going to happen. 


How much does your 'face' cost?


*Free in Glamour magazine
**Sample in Glossybox, this is the price I paid for the box
***Bought from the reduced section in Boots, I think it may be discontinued or different now as I cannot find it online

Make Your Own Hair Mask

Hair masks and treatments are very popular products. They can cost as little as a couple of pounds, rising up to over forty pounds, and maybe beyond that. I've never been completely sold on the fact that they do more for your hair than normal conditioners, but I have a cupboard full of them anyway and love using them.

If you're buying these masks on the high street, or even from salons, chances are they've got a bunch of horrible chemicals in that can damage your hair. I'm not saying you should avoid all of these chemicals on a daily basis because, honestly, who can do that? But I thought I'd share with you a mask I make at home which is free of these chemicals, and contains a lot more nutritious qualities to boot. AND IT'S CHEAP (free if you can take it from your parents' cupboard)!

Egg, Honey and Olive Oil Mask

You will need: One egg, some Olive Oil, some Honey.

Instructions (ha): Crack an egg, maybe avoid getting the shell in, or not.. crunchy hair mask anyone? Pour in some Olive Oil and Honey (preferably the runny kind.. the solid stuff may make life difficult) and stir together. Ta da, you are done. This was obviously super challenging so you should now take a break and relax :)

After that relaxing break, apply it to your hair. I tend to avoid my roots if I've added olive oil because I don't want to risk my hair being greasy after I've washed it. I just dip my hair in the bowl of it, run it through with my fingers a bit and then tie it up. Then continue to relax. Now would not be a good time to leave the house and do things in public, the egg might smell. Keep social interaction to a minimum at this point. 

I do one of these once a week or so and leave it on my hair for twenty minutes to an hour. The longer it's on your hair the more good stuff it can do to it I suppose?

Then wash it out with shampoo and condition as normal. Simple stuff.

What do these ingredients do for your hair?

Egg: Full of protein and nutrients, both of which your hair needs and likes. Keep the yolk in as that has fats and more protein and nutrients in, meaning more benefit for your hair. Warning: When using egg, try to use very cool water to wash it out of your hair, warm water will cook the egg (GROSS!) and you'll be left with white bits of egg. I know this from experience but it was pretty easy to wash out of my hair. But still, avoid cooking egg in your hair! Leave it for the frying pan.

Honey: Adds shine to your hair! Honey has been used to treat wounds by different groups of people, and some people think it can also help repair hair. I definitely notice a lot of shine when I put honey on my hair.. well, once I've washed it out.

Olive Oil: According to LiveStrong, Olive Oil has many benefits for your hair- from adding softness and shine, increasing manageability to preventing split ends. Wonderful stuff!

These are just the three ingredients I use on a regular basis because they're easily accessibly in my cupboard, but you could use just one or two of these or add other things like avocado, yogurt or lemon juice.

So if you're bored, your hair is feeling dull, you can't afford a hair treatment or mask, or maybe if you just feel like throwing together different ingredients and shoving them on your head instead of eating them, this could be the solution to your problems.

Do you ever make your own beauty treatments at home? Let me know. I love trying out new things that I can make at home!

No 7 Nail Varnish in 'Stand Back' | Review

Unfortunately, for my pocket and my nails, this is not going to be a positive review. It's obviously nice to write about things you love. But my hatred/disgust for this is compelling me to write. Of course, it's also useful for people who are considering buying this. All I will say is 'DO NOT.' Barry M do a dupe called 'Cyan Blue' (see swatches here), so if you want the colour, but not the horrible formulation, opt for that.

But why the hate?..

First off, the application is horrible. It is thick and somehow feels dry. It drags when you try to paint your nail. Horrible.

But.. it does dry quickly.

The bottle is also a nuisance. If this was a good product, I wouldn't care so much,  but it isn't. The bottle has a long neck, so each time I dipped the brush back in the bottle, it came out with no product on. I kept underestimating the length of the neck which had no product in. Not a major thing, but I'm adding it to my campaign of hate!

So, once you've struggled to get the product on the brush, and ensured you have enough of it, to prevent that horrible 'dragging' feeling, you are then left with a pretty uneven coverage. Two more coats later, you think you're safe.. but you're not. The NEXT DAY, I went to add a top coat. My nails had dried over night, yet when I applied the top coat, the nail varnish stained the brush and it went all streaky. I have never had this happen to me before.

STREAKS

And honestly, this wasn't the worst of it. In the following 24 hours, SIX of my nails some how peeled off and were I was left with bare, ugly nails.

I used a base and to coat and this still happened in 24 hours. In those 24 hours, I was not working on a farm or any other form of manual labour.. so WHY? :'(

I am SO disappointed in this product. The actual price of this nail varnish is £7, which is perhaps why my hopes were high. For that price I could get two Barry M Nail Paints and something from MUA. Obviously I only paid £2 with a No. 7 voucher, but even that feels like daylight robbery. In the past I've been a big fan of the Collection 2000 nail polishes as they have a great colour selection and I really like the formula. They cost £1.99. If Collection 2000 can make a decent product for £1.99, why can't No. 7 for £7?

There is, perhaps, a silver lining. I read a blog post about this polish which said the quality did not compare to other No. 7 polishes. I hope this is true. So I'm not going to say "DO NOT BUY ANY NO. 7 NAIL POLISHES. EVER!!!" but "DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!!"

Or, maybe you've tried it and really liked it?

Look Beauty Eye Brightener Pencil | Review

Over the past week I've learned that it is essentially impossible to find a flesh coloured eye liner on the high street. If anyone knows where they are hiding, please comment below!

Of course, the concept behind these is that lining your water line with a black pencil makes them look smaller, so lighter colours open them up and make them look bigger and brighter. A few years ago I attempted to make this look work with a white pencil. Ouch. It didn't look natural in anyway and I quickly gave up.

Recently, I've been searching for one. Failing everywhere I looked, I went to Chanel. I had read that they did a really good one. But my local counter didn't have it. I was doomed.

Then, in Superdrug, as I was about to give up on my quest (and life), I spotted this. There was only one left, and no tester. Looks like people have been grabbing these up. They were also half price and a mere £2. I quickly grabbed it.

It is by Look Beauty, which I have never used before. It is not an area of Superdrug that I gravitate towards. I've not read any reviews about them so have no idea if they are supposed to be good or utter rubbish. They had some interesting-looking products though, so I might have to revisit.

This is called a 'Long-Last Liner.' I don't expect anything to last long on my waterline. But this lasts nicely. But that isn't overly important to me.. you can reapply throughout the day pretty easily, right? I was more concerned about the colour. Thankfully, I've found this to be a really natural colour, perfect for opening up your eyes. It is well-pigmented and creamy, so gets my seal of approval.

It also comes with a smudger on the end. I have no idea what the technical word is for such a device. So a smudger it shall henceforth be called. I will never use this. And I don't think it's very suitable for this type of eyeliner, which is probably just going to be used on the water line. But I can see how this would be useful with darker colours which you might line other parts of your eye with! It definitely saves carrying an extra brush around with you.

Left eye has eyeliner on, right one does not. Can you see a difference?

If you're looking for a flesh coloured eyeliner and like me have so far had a doomed search, check this one out.

Available : Superdrug, £4 (half price at £2 right now)

Tanning Routine | Mini Reviews

I've always wanted to be a person who manages to stay on top of a routine ensuring that I am always sun-kissed and glowing. This never happens. But lately, I've been better at maintaining my bronzed appearance, so I thought I'd share what I do and the products I use.


BODY:

Before I tan, I ensure to exfoliate thoroughly. I use Soap & Glory's 'Flake Away' which I am absolutely in love with. It's so thick, and full of so many little.. granules? Beads? Words escape me! Anyway, lots of those. It lasts for ages too. As well as using this before I tan, I try to use it twice more in the week. Patchy tan is not nice. 

Available: Boots, £7

In between exfoliating and getting out of the bath and then applying the tan, I moisturise! Recently I've been using a Burberry Body Lotion from a 'Burberry London' gift set. My theory is that strong smelling lotions will over power the smell of fake tan. This is untrue. I'm also not at all impressed with the lotion as it takes FOREVER to sink in and dry, which annoys me generally in life, but when I'm tanning it infuriates me on a whole new level.

I tan once a week with St Moriz tanning mousse in 'dark.' Doing so in the evening. I'm a super duper pale person and the only reason I opted for dark was because it was the only one in the shop at the time, but now it's the only one I ever reach for. I love St Moriz because it gives a nice colour. It's a dark green brown when you apply it so you know you're going to look more olive-y than tangoed. It also dries quickly and is easy to apply. Plus it's £3, which is more reasonable than St Tropez's £30. I've used St Tropez in the Past and while I've liked it, I get the same effect from St Moriz.

Available: Wilkinsons, £3. In N. Ireland and Scotland it can be found in Semi-Chem for a similar price. Fragrancedirect.co.uk also sell it for £2.99

I apply it with a St Moriz mitt which isn't amazing, but does the job. I then stand around for a while, willing it to dry. And it does so, quickly. I then wait a couple of hours and go to bed. When I wake up I am a rather alarmingly.. intense colour. I then hit the shower and the guide colour comes off, leaving me looking more natural-looking.

Available: Wilkinsons, £3

That is my weekly tanning routine which I make few deviations from. One thing I may mix it up with though, it 'Garnier Summer Body.' I honestly think this stuff is pretty much strong enough to use as a one-off tan. If I'm off somewhere and my tan is fading but it's not yet time to top it up, I stick this on the night before. As I said, it is strong, and if you're pale, you will notice this. I've never applied this more than twice in a row because that is enough for me. I have no idea what colour you'd be if you used this stuff everyday. One downside is that it never really dries properly on me. I've found this with all of the Garnier Moisturisers. Sad face.

Available: Boots, Superdrug etc., £7-ish (usually on sale)

FACE:

So far, I've been able to get away with applying St Moriz to my face. But I'm pretty sure it's going to break me out at some point. In an attempt to possibly curtail this, I do not leave it on my face overnight, but wash it off before I sleep.

I then use Simple's 'Sun kissed' moisturiser. I use this every other day throughout the week.  This gives a really natural-looking tan when used on its own, without the St Moriz. So if you want a face tanner, I say this is a good one to go for. One thing though.. this is supposed to be for sensitive skin, which mine isn't. But this stuff makes me face BURN. I end up looking like a tomato. I don't have that problem with other moisturisers. I probably shouldn't use it?

To ensure I don't end up a splotchy, patchy mess, I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub before I tan, and then 2-3 times a week in between. I cannot even express my love for this product sufficiently. It is like rubbing sand on your face. In a good way.

Available:
Apricot Scrub: Boots, Superdrug etc. £3.99
Simple sun-kissed moisturiser: Boots, Superdrug etc. £4.99

TIP:

If you get dry elbows/knees/any part of the body, this Body Shop Hemp Balm has really helped me to counteract these areas. I try to apply it as often as possibly (twice a day). That way, when it comes to tanning, you aren't going to get bright orange elbows. Unless you like bright orange elbows, in which case, forfeit moisturising them and rock that look!

Available: The Body Shop, £1

Superdrug Natural High- Radiance Balm | Review

I have no idea why I even bought this. I hadn't heard anything about it before but for some reason when killing time in superdrug, I decided to throw this in my basket.

I have mentioned before how horribly dry my skin is. As a result, I am always looking for ways to make it look like my skin isn't a similar texture to dry, dry sand. So I was pleased to discover that this product gives my skin a really dewy finish which I am in love with.

What it says:

"Naturally high in...
Organic Olive Oil
Smoothes, softens and tones
Witch Hazel
A smoothing anti-inflammatory
Elderberry
Nourishes and tones to improve radiance
Dermatologically tested
Contains light reflective particles to give an instant, illuminating lift to skin, leaving it soft, smooth and radiant"

It all sounds very good. And if you're like me and think "AAAH GLITTER!!" when you hear the term 'light reflecting particles'.. don't worry, there is no glitter in this product. At least not any that is visible to me in daylight, with my glasses on!

I find that this works great on its own or under makeup. It gives a gorgeous dewy glow to the skin and leaves it feeling velvety and smooth. I generally use this as a primer-esque product. I find that it just makes me skin more glowing and 'shines through' my makeup.

I haven't seen any extra benefits to my skin, but I definitely think that the name 'Radiance Balm' is accurate. I'm not claiming that I look in the mirror and say "My, aren't you looking radiant today!" But I definitely look a little more radiant than my usual dull self..

It also has what I find to be a pleasant smell. It isn't overpowering and because I seem to be completely incompetent, I can't really describe it. But if you've tried any other products from the Superdrug Natural high range, it smells like they all do.

According to the packaging for an 'extra treat' you can apply this in a thick layer over your skin and leave it on. I'm afraid to say that I haven't actually tried this. I probably should have before reviewing it on here. But I am happy with the one use I have for it.. making my skin look glowy and turning me into a radiant person!

Would you want to try this product or do you get your dewiness in other ways? Or maybe you don't even like the dewy look, in which case, this probably isn't a product you want to start using (in fact, I apologise to you for having to read this post).

£4.99 at Superdrug