Soleil Tan de Chanel | Bronze Universel

It's a well known fact amongst us ladies that shopping is good for the soul. Not so much our bank balance, but hey, we can look past that minor problem, right? After browsing through Selfridges makeup hall the other week, I found myself stood at the Chanel counter, surrounded by a lot of wonderfully beautiful yet wonderfully expensive products. Despite the abundancy of makeup I was faced with, there was only one product I had in mind that I had been dying to splurge on for ages; the ever-so-famous 'Soleil Tan de Chanel', or otherwise known as the 'Chanel Bronze Universel'. After seeing this little beauty popping up repeatedly in countless blog posts and YouTube videos, I decided I had spent enough time keeping my money safely tucked inside my wallet, and made the much awaited splurge. I must say, I wrinkled my nose slightly at the price tag of £31.00, however, after using and loving this product for the past few weeks, I must say waving goodbye to my hard earned cash was 100% worth it. I love having this product amongst my collection, and have thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with the bronzing beauty in my daily makeup look. 

Unlike some bronzers, this bronzer isn't orange toned at all. It gives a very natural, bronzed look, minus the whole 'fake bake orange' look. It works well as a contour colour, and also as an all over bronzer on the cheeks. It applies very easily when blended well with a brush (my fave brushes to use are the Real Techniques Contour brush & Expert Face brush) and is easy to work with on the face. Its creamy consistency allows you to blend the product like a dream, which is great for quick makeup looks for those weekday morning rushes. It applies virtually matte, and can be built up to create the coverage you desire. 

On a quick side note, it just so happened to be my birthday last Monday, and I used my (kindly given and gratefully recieved) birthday money along side my wages for the past few weeks to buy myself a DSLR camera. Hurray! This is my first post including photos taken with that camera (the Nikon D3100, if you were wondering) so I am still at the experimental stage. But nevertheless, I have been highly enjoying having a quality camera to aid the development of my blog. 

Please ignore the brush bristles that appear to have nested in the product, I guess its inevitable with cream products.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding this product, and if you have tried it, what do you think of it? Thank you for reading!

 

Skin Essentials for Winter Weather

I am fully aware that Winter is not yet upon us, but over the past few weeks the weather has begun to gradually spiral towards the lower end of the thermometer, signalling the cold weather of 2013 could be hitting us earlier than expected. If you are from the UK, you may have seen the numerous articles announcing the expectancy of a harsh winter with record breaking amounts of snow and extremely low temperatures. It is said that this record breaking weather is going to conclude in this Winter being the worst in over 100 years. Woah. It is said this icy storm is to grasp the UK from as early as November onwards, therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to begin my Wintery posts a little earlier, to prepare you, I guess.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Winter, in fact, it's my favourite season. But being the beauty enthusiast that I am, I can't help but fret about my skin and how I can keep it hydrated and protected throughout he colder months. I'm pretty sure most of you reading this right now are exactly the sae, and so I thought it would be nice to share with you my tips and tricks for keeping healthy skin in Winter. After all, sharing is caring! I will be advising you of products, techniques, and skin essentials that will help you and your skin cope throughout the chilly months.

1. Moisturise, moisturise, then moisturise some more!

Probably the most necessary and obvious product that is completely essential during Winter is moisturiser. It's non negotiable that icy winds are bound to do all they can to whip away your skins natural moisture, and so we need to fight back by supplying our skin with plenty of hydration. By using moisturiser in the morning and at night, your skin should hopefully be able to remain hydrated and healthy. Currently, my favourite moisturiser is the Nivea Daily Essentials Light Moisturising Day Cream. (Full review of this product here). This moisturiser is perfect for keeping your skin soft and hydrated, and I highly recommend it. After all, who doesn't love a high quality, yet cheap moisturiser? 

2. Exfoliate 

Exfoliating is a very imporant step in anybody's skin regime, and should be done 1-2 times every week.  Being too frequent with your exfoliator or being too rough when you use it can cause the skin to reject thre beneficial factors of exfoliator and end up in your skin breaking out etc. Therefore, you have to be careful with exfoliator. But providing you are, it will work wonders for your skin! I prefer to exfoliate whilst in the shower; I carefully massage a small amount of product around my face in circular motions, making sure to be extra gentle when going over breakouts or spot prone areas. I then rinse of the exfoliator well, and continue with my regular skincare once I exit the shower, of course. Exfoliating is important all year round, but it is especially great for Winter. If your skin does happen to feel dry or de-hydrated after a day in the cold, then sometimes the problem is out of moisturisers hands. Its all well and good moisturising the dry skin, but that skin will still be there underneath, and the next day, it will probably become dry again. By exfoliating, you will be removing all the dead skin cells from your face, leaving you with a healthy, glowing & fresh face. Exfoliator is definitely a wonderful thing, but it may not be the best for everyone. If you have never use it before, do some research first to ensure you find the exfoliator that is right for you. After all, everybody's skin is different. If you have highly sensitive skin, or suffer from acne or any other skin disorder, I would recommend consulting a dermatologist or talking to a skin care prefessional before you start to use new products on your skin. Just make sure the exfoliator (and every other product you use) is suited to you. Personally, I am loving the Good Things Deep Clean Blackhead Exfoliator right now. Good Things is a wonderful brand, as it is aimed at teenage skin, therefore it is gentle and easy on the skin. The exfoliant particles in the product mix well with the gel based formula of the exfoliator. It almost gives you and exfoliate and face wash in one! It also smells eally lovely. All of the Good Things products smell amazing & fruity, however it isn't highly perfumed at all as the fruity scent comes from natural fruit extracts - mainly Papaya and Licorice. Yummy! 

3. Face masks!

Not only are face masks the perfect product to use on a pamper night, but they are also extremely beneficial for the skin. They renew, refresh and moisturse the skin, resulting in naturally glowing skin. Winder winds have a tendancy to give your skin that 'tired' look, and so face masks are a great way to rejuvinate and revive your skin; not only in Winter, but all year round. Recently, I have been loving the Good Things 5 minute facial mask. It's quick and easy to apply, which is ideal with face masks, as nobody wants skincare to be a lengthy chore. You apply it, and after 5 minutes, you rinse it off. Voila. Heathy, glowing skin in 5 minutes. Again, it smells lovely and feels fairly nice on the skin, however it does begin to burn a little if you leave it on too long.

It's all well and good caring for your skin on your face, but we musn't neglect our hands and lips, as they are two things that have a tendancy to be a little dry in Winter. So here are two products I think are perect for keeping these two things hydrated.

4. Hand Cream

Throughout the colder months, your hands are exposed to more amounts of chilly air than you would expect, and therefore, will naturally begin become dehydrated. This is when hand cream will become your new best friend, and providing you remember to apply it regularly, you can banish those dry, cracked hands and say a big hello to moisturised, replenished ones. Applying a good layer of hand cream and then popping on a cosy pair of gloves should keep your hands healthy over Winter, no problem. My favourite hand cream at the minute is the Garnier Intensive 7 Days Hand Cream, for dry to extra dry hands. There are four in the range I believe, each aimed at different dryness levels. I would personally always recommend getting the one for the dryest hands, as it will be the thickest and most moisturising. Perhaps for Summer, a lighter formula would be better, but for Winter, I would always go for the one that moisturises the most. This hand cream is Hypoallergenic, and has a lovely light scent of Shea butter. The scent is really pleasant, and isn't too over powering at all. Priced at around the £2 mark, it is definitely an affordable, yet highly luxurious product to try out.

5. Lip Balm

Personally, I always have at least 1 lip bal on me at all times, and find myself re-applying it constantly throughout the day. There is nothing worse than having dry/chapped lips, and trust me, giving them a good lick will most defnitely not help make them softer again. This is were lip balm comes in. My favourite lip balms are the Nivea Lip butters; they are seriously amazing. These lip balms are of such a good quality, and they last for ages on your lips. They are so incredibly moisturising and thick, and leave your lips feeling so soft and smooth. My favouites are the Raspberry Kiss flavour, and the Original one, which has no flavour to it, but is great for night time use. I love them so much, and simply cannot believe the value for money you get with these things; priced around the £2 mark. Definitely pick one or two of these up next time you're in the drugstore.

So there you have it; my Winter Skincare Essentials. I hope you enjoyed reading this, or found it helpful in some way. What do you love to use in the Winter? Anything I should try out? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!                                                              

Magnificent Monday #1

Monday's. Not the most popular day amongst all, for various reasons. Whether you have a test at school, or a truck load of paper work awaiting you at the office, or just the thought of school/work in general. Monday's can be hard, that is a given, and they can be draining both physically and mentally. That's why I thought it would be a nice idea to start a new series on my blog, called 'Magnificent Monday's'. I will basically be having a little ramble about being positive and happy, and how you can start off the week with a bang. My inspiration for this series arose from the lovely Louise's series 'Motivational Monday's'. After enjoying reading the posts so much, I decided to give it a go myself. I love Louise's blog a lot, and I'm sure most of you already read it, too. If not, check it out here. For this weeks Magnificent Monday post, I thought I would just give a general overview about being happy, and being grateful for the little things. I hope this series helps some of you to take a more positive outlook on your week, and if there is a particular topic you would like me to discuss throughout the Magnificent Monday's series, then please do leave me a little comment - I would be delighted  if I could help!

Next time you open your mouth to complain about how bad your Monday is, or how much you want to just stay at home tucked up in bed as opposed to get on with the work awaiting you, just stop and think. Is it really that bad? What's the worst that's going to happen? You never know, that particular Monday could behold something amazing, your whole life could change on that day. It's a huge thought, I know. But when you think about it, anything could happen in that day - imagine if you were to stay in bed and miss the amazingness that the day had in store for you. Surely it's worth dragging yourself into work and seizing the day, just to see what's in store. After all, even if it's the poopiest day ever, it won't last forever. In a few hours, the day will be finished. Work isn't going to go on forever, and you won't be at school all day; no matter how bad the day is, always remember it won't last forever.

Photos: Google Images

Basically, I guess the whole point of this is to say; think before you moan about it being Monday, or any day, in fact. Seize every oppurtunity, and understand that there are people in the world who's day is probably going to contain something a lot worse than a bit of paper work or course work. Just be grateful for the little things. If you need a little reminder of the importance of displaying gratitude; give this song a listen. This is one of my favourite songs to listen to, and restores a lot of positivity within you if your day isn't going too great.

Thank you for reading, and remember - be positive and grateful for the little things. Have a lovely day/week! x

Autumn/Winter Fashion Haul

It's no secret that I love shopping, and so as soon as the shops begin to fill their shelves with endless amounts of cosy Winter wear, I leap at the chance to give them a gander. Yesterday, my mum and I decided a bit of Saturday shopping was in order, and I returned from the shops with a few too many bags in tow...

As I have never done a 'haul' type post on my blog, I decided it would be a nice idea to share my purchases with you; so here we go!

There's no doubt about the fact that Primark are top notch during the colder season, and always seem to surprise their shoppers with their wonderfully cheap yet wonderfulyl stylish clothes. There is such a wide range of items to choose from, and it's safe to say you get a lot of 'bang for your buck'. So in case you haven't already guessed; our first stop was Primark. 

As I am going to Germany in a few weeks, and the weather is most likely going to be somewhat Wintery, I have been on the look out for warm winter-wear that will keep me snuggly throughout the trip. Primark has proven to be a perfect destination for this, and yesterday was certainly no disappointment.

 I picked up this jumper for a mere £12, and I absolutely love it. I have a feeling this will be joining mefairly  frequently on days out this Winter. 

I have been pondering over a denim jacket in Topshop for a few weeks now, but have been reluctant to pay the £50 price tag attached. So when I spotted this jacket in Primark, which may I add, is practically identical to the Topshop one, but for only £18, I couldn't quite believe it. It took me no time at all to retrieve one from the shelf, and I simply cannot wait to wear this warmly lined beauty out and about.

I have noticed that tartan is rather 'on trend' this season, and have been wanting something that displays the stylish pattern for a while. When I spied this dress, I fell in love a little. It was tartan, just as I had wanted, but it also had a collar (which I love) and a bow (which I aso love!) Therefore, it was non negotiable that this lovely little dress would be joining my other finds in the basket. This cost £15.

This dress has proved to me that there are smetimes advantages to being a petite person. Believe it or not this dress is from the children's section of Primark. Again, I had been eyeing up a dress in Topshop for a while that was basically identical to this lucky find from Primark. Thank goodness I didn't purchase that one at £30, otherwise seeing this little beauty priced at only £8 would have been somewhat annoying. Very comfy, very swishy, very versatile... a rather fabulous purchase if you ask me.

After buying two dresses, it was obvious I would need something to cosy them up a little over the Winter season, and so I found this super soft, over sized cardigan. This will definitely keep me snug over Winter, and cost £10.

A little broing, but very necessary. Super Cosy tights from Primark are my absolute FAVE! They are lined with a fluffy material, and they keep you super snuggly. I am always cold, so these are somewhat rather perfect for me. I also purchased a pair of the Fashion Tights, which are knit-style tights. I thought these wold work nicely with my new dresses. The Super Cosy ones are £3.50 each, and the Fashion Tights are £3 each.

Next stop; Topshop!

Seeing rows and rows of nal polishes organised by colour is what I would call intriguing, and I always find myself absorbed by the over-whelming amount of colour in front of me. I spotted this little beauty in the shade 'Rumours & Lies'  and felt it was a perfect colour for the colder months. 

Now, I must say these little boties are my favourite purchase of the day. I am somewhat obsessed with them, and am excited to wear these this season. They are of an amazing quality, and look simply amazing with so many different outfits. Whilst they were £45, I think you definitley get youre money's worth.

Next, we headed to Boots, as I needed a couple of essentials.

I needed a new moisturiser to mix in with my foundation, and the Nivea Soft is my favourite for that. So I purchased one of those. Whilst I was at the Nivea stand, I noticed it was buy one get the second half price, and I knew I needed a new face wash. I deicded to give the Refreshing Facial Wash Gel a try, since it is a part of the Daily Essentials line, which I like a lot. I might do a further review of this product within the next few weeks - let me know if you would like that!

So there we have it; my Saturday shopping haul. I hope you njoyed this post, and let me know if you would like more of these in the future, as I go shopping rather regularly... Woops! Thanks for reading! 

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Maybelline Colour Tattoo | Metallic Pomegranate

With the season of Autumn now in full swing, I decided it was only right I began to look for some new, rave-worthy products to go hand in hand with the season of leaf-smothered grounds and crisp, cloud scattered skies. After all, when is it not an appropriate time for new makeup? After dilly-dallying around my local Superdrug one day, I decided to take a look at the Maybelline stand, as lately I have been pleasantly suprised with the new products they have released. I knew I wanted to get my hands on a cranberry-coloured eyeshadow, so when I noticed Maybelline offered a colour tattoo that was pretty much a perfect match to my desired colour, I may have skipped a breath or two. It took me no time at all to dash to the tills and purchase this little beauty, which, over the past week or so of experimenting has proved to live up to my full expectations. So, as you guys have probably identified from my blog already, I like to rave about the things I am loving, and so here I am - once again - ready to rave about yet another eyeshadow. Hurray!

For any of you who don't know, the Maybelline Colour Tattoos are lovely little pots of wonderfully creamy eyeshadow, and are loved by pretty much the entire beauty community. They are very multi-purpose, and can be used as a base, for detailing, or as an eyeshadow on their own. This particular one is in the shade 'Metallic Pomegranate', and is the perfect colour for Autumn & Winter. I like to apply it all over my lid with either a blending brush or my finger, and then blend it up and out through the crease. For those days where you are racing against the clock, and need something quick and easy that will allow you to dash out of your door in time for whatever activities you are embracing on that particular day; the Maybelline Colour Tattoos are perfect. 

I love how easily blendable this eye shadow is, and colour works perfectly with my blue eyes. However, I definitely think this eyeshadow would look flattering on all eye colours, as it can be built up as desired depending on what kind of colour pay off you're looking for. It does seem to have a little bit of a sparkle to it as well, which I think would work really nicely for the upcoming festive season, which by the way, I am very, very excited about! (My Christmas blog posts will be starting veryyy soon - so keep your eyes peeled!) 

Priced at a mere £4.99, I definitely think this product is worth a try. Or if this colour isn't for you, then I would recommend looking for another from the line, as they are absolutely worth a try. Have you tried these eyeshadows? What are your favourite colours from the line? 

Thanks for reading!

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L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution | Review

I'll begin with a minor apology for the lengthy title - hopefully your brain isn't too boggled by it! So in case you haven't already guessed, I'm going to be reviewing the (brace yourselves) L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3-in-1 Purifying Micellar Solution. Not that's what you call a lengthy product name. But despite the long-winded name, this cleansing water is rather fabulous. I have owned it for only a couple of weeks, but have been thoroughly enjoying using this on my skin.

The bottle claims that this purifying solution dissolves & removes makeup, unclogs pores, removes impurties & tones and soothes the skin. I definitely give each of these claims my nod of approval, as it does each of these things to a reasonably high standard; as well as cleansing and refreshing the skin. 

In terms of slotting this cleanser into my skicare routine, I use it at night, as a last cleanse of the skin. I don't use it to remove my makeup, as I use a seperate makeup remover for that. However, after washing my face with cold water, it works as a lovely last cleanse, and takes any sneaky remainig particles of makeup out of the skin. It leaves the skin leaving refreshed and revitalised, and absorbs quickly, preparing the skin for moisturiser. I use it only at night, despite the bottle recommending this cleansing water for use in the morning & at night. This is mainly because this cleanser also works as a toner, and I don't like to tone my skin in the mornings, as it leaves my pores open which allows makeup to get deep int my skin...no thanks! But a lot of people seem use it in the morning and say it works fine, so I might give it a try... do you own this cleanser? When do you use it? Let me know!

Another great thing about this cleanser is the fact that Boots & Superdrug almost always have it on offer. I even saw it on offer in Asda yesterday, at a mere £2... Bargain! But even when this product isn't on offer, its still priced very very reasonably. It always seems to be a different price due to vaious offers and deals, but it is always around the 2 to 3 pound mark, which, considering what a lovely product this is, is hardly anything.

This cleansing water is meant to be a drugstore version or a dupe of the much loved Bioderma, which is spoken of fairly highly within the beauty community. I personally have never tried Bioderma, so I couldn't give a fair judgement on whether this L'Oreal dupe really is a close match, but many people that have tried both have said that the two are fairly similar. So if you're a Bioderma lover but want a cheaper option, or want something that's more readily available at your local drugstore - then definitely give this cleanser a try.

The dispenser on this product is surprisngly great. When I first opened the lid, I thought the nozzle looked to be a little messy, and thought that trying to dispense product onto a cotton pad from this thing was going to be quite the task. However, after using it for the first time, I was surprised to discover how controlled and easily the product pours out. It is super easy to pour out the perfect amount, without wasting product. I love it!

I also think this product would be great for travelling, as some journeys can be fairly lengthy, and this cleanser would work great as a quick refresh/pick-me-up during the journey. I certainly know that this handy little cleanser will be joining me on my 22 hour coach journey to Germany in a few weeks time...

In terms of helping my skin, this product has been wonderful. I wouldn't say it got rid of any spots I already had, but it has certainly stopped more from appearing. I still get the odd spot, but not in as vast amounts as before usng this cleanser. However, that being said, it did still help a few spots disappear quicker than they would have done without the aid of this product, which is good. 

One thing I have noticed, however, is that my skin has been ever so slighty oiier since I started using this product. Not by much, but my forehead does appear shinier than it was before. Maybe this is down to the fact I scrapped my toner from my skincare regime when I started using this product, as this cleanser also tones the skin. I always found my old Olay toner to be great at banishing oil from my skin, so perhaps the increase in oil is because I haven't been using that. Who knows. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this nifty little cleansing water. It is a lovely way to end the day and give your face a quick refresh. You will also be surprised at how much makeup is left in your skin when you use this product - it really cleans out your pores for you. Let me know if you are going to give this cleanser a try, or if you have tried it already - I would love to know! Thanks for reading.

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