Spring colour pop trend

With February over and us seeing in a (hopefully) warmer and dryer March (ok, I'm being far too optimistic!) I am being drawn away from all of those nudes and vampy reds I have been wearing over the last few months of Autumn and Winter and towards the gorgeous pastels and popping brights out there. My main obsession this month has been bright pinks, oranges and orange reds...here are some of my favorite buys (and there have been many, to my bank balance's dismay!) of February...

Topshop lipstick in Innocent £8

This is a really easy to wear pink, I have been wearing this alot in the daytime since I purchased it 2 weeks ago. I would say they are correct in their description of "a velvet finish lipstick to smooth and moisturize lips" as its a creamy, non-drying formula that you can really build the colour in a couple of slicks.




Bourjois Rouge Edition lipstick in 09 Orange Pop-up £7.99

I was really excited to purchase this lipstick as I have a real thing for orange and orange red lipsticks, I swatched it on my hand and the colour was a nice bright orange, however, on my lips it comes out more pink! It's still a very nice colour, just not as bright orange as I was hoping it would be. I didn't find it had the glossy finish it claimed to had, it definitely is more matte, but definitely not drying.

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Audacious £7.99

This is going to get alot of wear from me! I already have all of Revlon's ColorBurst Balm Stain's (as well as most other lip crayons from various other brands!) and the colour is always vivid and true to the description. This new matte version is no different, it has a lovely velvet matte texture and the colour is a fab bright orange!


 
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in In Love With Ginger £6.49

Another colour that is going to get alot of wear from me! This is the first lipstick I have purchased from Rimmel since I was a teenager and I really feel like I have been missing out! This is a gorgeous, bright orange red. It's very moisturizing and the colour is very vivid with just one slick! I usually prefer matte lipsticks so I did end up blotting off the shine...this will be a staple part of my make-up bag over the next few months!

Ciate polish in Red Hot Chilli £9

I adore this orange red shade! It goes perfectly with the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick...I had been wearing it for 3 days when I took this photo, still glossy and no chips...another winner for me from Ciate!

So despite the weather being dreary outside, my make-up bag is certainly lifting my spirits and I now can't wait until I have a tan to sport with my new favorites!

Jodie 

xoxo

How much is my face worth?

How much is my face worth? Tag

Ok so after being tagged in Cloe Anne's blog on "How much is my face worth" I was excited but now shocked to list the basic products I use on my day-to-day look. So here goes...

Premae Balance Rescue Face Wash £22.50

Premae Balance Rescue Face Tonique £19.50

Premae Harmony Multi-Vit Serum £22.50

Premae Harmony Creme Balm £35

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream £35

Mac Prep+Prime Skin £20.50

Mac Studio Fix Foundation NC15 £21.50

Bobbi Brown Corrector Light Bisque £18.50

Bobbi Brown Concealer Ivory £18.50

E.L.F HD Powder Corrective Yellow £6.95

HD Brows Eyebrow Palette £19.96

Maybelline Brow Drama Medium Brown £4.99

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Lightscapade £22

Illamasque Eyeliner Cake £15.50

Illamasque Sealing Gel £7

Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara £22

Bobbi Brown Blusher £19

Mac Fix-It Spray £14.50

I've not included eye primer, eyeshadows or lipsticks/balms/gloss as these will vary day-to-day...I've also not included the Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener £19.50 that I keep in my bag for touch-up's! So this gives us a grand total of...

£341.40

I am horrified at how much my daily routine costs...and just how many products I use! I have definitely earned my stripes as a skincare and make-up junkie! 

But I may add that I am secretly smug that I can shower, have breakfast, do the above make-up routine and my hair all in an hour before work in the morning...not bad going!

Looking forward to seeing your totals!

Jodie 

xox

Xen-Tan Transform Luxe Gradual Tanner Review

So I thought I'd share with you my first ever experience with Xen-Tan Gradual Tanner in Light/Medium. Now I am a fake tan virgin, I do however use a gradual tanner all year round which is Dove's purse-friendly Summer Glow. Whilst the scent of Dove's Summer Glow isn't the best, just the usual biscuity mushroom smell that you get with all the others, it does give a lovely, even and subtle glow. Back to my experience with Xen-Tan...

I was really excited to try Xen-Tan, before purchasing I had read many glowing reviews from people that were dedicated to this brand for excellent salon quality results. I probably wouldn't have purchased it at it's full retail of £39.95 but as it was in the ASOS sale for £18.50 I thought this was a reasonable price as the gift set included an exfoliator and tanning mitt.

 The products came in very luxurious and informative gold and cream boxes enclosed in a transparent re-usable cosmetic bag. The gradual tanner and exfoliator themselves were very generous sized 236ml bottles with the gradual tanner having a screw top and the exfoliator having a nice and easy flip top.

So that evening I showered, shaved and exfoliated in preparation for applying the gradual tanner. Just touching on the exfoliator, it was a very refreshing and non-abrasive scrub...some scrubs can leave my skin feeling dry and taught but this didn't. Straight after my shower I slathered on E45 cream...I do this every night regardless of applying my usual gradual tanner or not. Now onto my experience with the tanner itself...

Firstly, the scent is delicious! Its got a fresh vanilla scent to it which only slightly changed to that biscuity fake tan smell around 3 hours later and even then it wasn't as over-powering as some other brands I have tried. The lotion itself made my skin feel moisturised and was easy to apply. Now the set came with a tanner mitt...as this is labelled as a daily gradual tan I threw caution to the wind and applied it with my hands...big mistake! Although the rest of my body tanned evenly and streak free the colour was anything but a subtle light/medium. I love the colour, it was a deep olive, I have an olive tone to my skin anyway so the tanner only enhanced this. Although I had washed my hands thoroughly after applying to my body and rubbed a small amount to the backs of my hands using my wrists and the back of the opposite hand to rub in I ended up with a disaster on my hands that I don't usually get!

As you can see from this photo the colour difference is so dramatic! I love the colour it's very natural but I know now why it came with a tanning mitt and will definitely be using it on my next application! My disappointment of this not being as easy to use as my usual drug-store brand gradual tanner has been overshadowed by the luxurious colour and feel of Xen-Tan.

I may be converted....

Jodie
xoxo

Fushi's Rosehip Oil Review

Fushi Rosehip Oil

So I thought I'd let you know about some other fabulous natural skincare products I have been using on my battle against PCOS!

In my last blog I touched on...that's a lie I professed my love for Premae's Immaculate Collection and the amazing results my skin achieved after just one month of using their products. The other rainy day I decided to have a facial at home...whilst browsing through my collection of face masks I can across a product I had received just before Christmas but hadn't used as in all honesty...I didn't know what it did! Que Fushi's Organic Rose-hip Oil.

I quickly took to Google to try and research the properties of Rose-hip Oil and after reading that celebs such as Miranda Kerr get their glow from slathering themselves in it at night I immediately couldn't wait to try it! The product description is as follows...'Rosehip oil is rich in Vitamin A and C, which helps to delay the effects of skin ageing, assists with cell regeneration and promotes collagen levels. It also contains a high amount of essential fatty acids and Vitamin E, which further promotes healthy skin. Rosehip oil is very beneficial for ageing skin, scarred skin, stretch marks, dermatitis and for repairing sun damaged skin. Free from artificial chemicals. Directions: Apply externally to affected area twice daily.Ingredients: Rosa canina (Rosehip seed oil).

Now, I have only been using this product for a few days so I can't give it a fair enough review as to the results but...I love it! It doesn't aggravate my skin and after applying you can barely tell at all that you have it on. The smell isn't particularity pleasant, at the same time it's not unpleasant. After cleansing and toning I have been applying this beneath my serum at night and my skin seems to have a glow about it in the morning! The 100ml bottle it comes in would last forever as you only need a small amount on the fingertips to apply and it quickly absorbs and at around £13 a bottle it's a bargain!

Have you tried Rose-hip Oil? What are your thoughts?

Jodie

 xox

Premae's Immaculate Collection Review

Ok, so after reading thousands of blogs myself and always appreciating and offering a virtual hand of support to some of these ladies as they expose themselves so bravely to the world I was often left feeling as though I'd like to give something back...I mean if these ladies hadn't taken the time to blog then I wouldn't have found their truly life changing contributions and hey, maybe someone might find one of my contributions in turn just as life changing? Well, there is something that greatly changed my life a year ago, something that unfortunately fellow sufferers still find awkward and embarrassing to talk about...PCOS.

PCOS is what set me on my "quest for perfection". Now whilst I have always loved make-up and skin-care products (hell, what girl doesn't?!) my love for them has over the last 18 months turned into an obsession. With PCOS comes some nasty symptoms. Now the irregular, painful and heavy periods I can cope with, just about...but it's the, at times, soul destroying symptoms that really get you down. Whilst my skin is under control at the moment, through some lifestyle changes, hormone balancing treatments and the right skincare routine, 12 months ago I was at my worst. Predominantly on my jaw-line I had the most painful spots and under skin cysts ever! In fear of seeming vain I kept my struggle to myself and this is where my make-up love turned into an obsession! I was desperate to find foundations, primers and concealers that would mask the problem...I had gone from wearing my favourite tinted moisturiser that I wore for around 3 years to wearing several layers of primers and foundations and carefully blended concealers. Now whilst the added layers to my face gave some confidence, it wasn't helping the underlying problems and I was often left with that "cakey" look that us ladies are desperate to avoid! Leaving a trusted brand that you have been with for years because of such a dramatic and desperate skin situation is over-whelming...I spent hours everyday in search of the 'next best thing'. This is where I realised I was over-complicating things...I needed to go back to basics! Now, 3 months ago I discovered a new brand through a sample of their Harmony Serum in my Glossybox...Premae.

                                                                    

That was how my skin looked in November of last year. Pretty nasty huh? Now at the time of taking these photo's I was using Clinique's 3-step routine and it just wasn't helping. I'm in no way saying that the brand is rubbish, I had used their make-up and skin-care for over 3 years...it's just as my body was changing the products in my routine weren't helping me. Back to Premae. Now I only received a sample of their Harmony Serum so at the time couldn't vouch for any of their other products, but after only a few uses of Harmony Serum my skin was making huge improvements.

As I didn't have a cleanser from their range to use alongside the Harmony Balm I just carried on using my Clinique cleansing bar. Within a week a really noticed a difference. My skin was less irritated and aggravated and the painful cysts were starting to subside. That was it, once I could see the difference I was hooked on this product and I took to their website to purchase a full sized bottle of the serum. This is where I discovered they did a miniature collection of the full Harmony range. In the collection was a 20ml Face Wash, 20ml Face Tonique, 20ml Harmony Serum and 10ml Harmony Balm, enough to last you 30 days and to see how your skin got on with it. This was the best thing I ever did! Every week my skin was getting better and better, the spots have completely gone and the acne scarring has substantially lightened. Every week throughout January I was sending a "selfie" update to Premae and their replies were always messages of joy and encouragement. You can check out my selfie diary skin update here.

This is where I am now...4 weeks after using the full range...Pretty impressive huh? I'm overjoyed with the results and this is one brand I shall be sticking with...thank you Premae! So now I have got that part of my PCOS under management there's just the other horrible parts of PCOS to deal with...

Jodie

xoxo