Spring/Summer Daily Makeup Routine

Hey lovelies,

I thought I'd do a quick post on my makeup routine at the minute. This is what at the moment I've been swaying towards during the day, I obviously wear different makeup when I'm going out somewhere special or something longer wearing for work but this look is just so quick and easy that I'm sticking to it! I've listed what I use with the brushes I use them with and a link to buy each thing. Most of my brushes are from the brand Sigma, and as you can't buy the brand officially in the UK, I bought the beginners/essential kit here.

Here's a photo of the makeup look:

1) Firstly for my base I applied using my fingers my Seventeen Flawless Poreless Primer, I like this that it's skin coloured and I'd say it's similar to the Benefit one but for me doesn't quite come to par with my Smashbox primer.

2) Next, I applied my Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream in the shade 'Ivory' with my Cosmopolitan Beauty Blender. Now I find this is sadly still a tad bit too dark but I can get away with it. I adore how light this feels on the skin but I wish it would be a bit longer lasting but it does have SPF 15 which is a major bonus! Then to cover up any remaining spots using my fingers I applied my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shade 'Fair'. I just apply this under the eyes and on any spots, this doesn't need any comment as it is truly raved about in the beauty world and I can fully see why being on my 3rd tube.

3) Thirdly, I lightly dusted my face with ELF's Tone Correcting Powder in the shade 'Cool', using the Sigma Powder Brush/F20. I wouldn't say this is anything special but I like that it doesn't leave my makeup looking cakey.

4) Then I filled in my brows with Maybelline's Brow Drama in the shade 'Medium Brown'. I love how easy this is to use, and highly recommend anyone to try this who either is considering adding a brow product into their makeup routine or are thinking of purchasing Benefit's gimmie brow.

5) Moreover, I then filled in my crease with the bronzer from ELF's Contouring Blush and Bronzer Powder Duo in the shade 'St Lucia' using my Sigma Tapered Blending Brush/E40. Ultimately, leading me to curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura Lash Curler and then flick on some Maybelline Great Lash mascara.

6) Finally I applied some bronzer from the ELF duo to my cheek bones using Space NK's Cheek Contour Brush and lightly dusted on ELF's Blush in the shade 'Pink Passion' with my Real Techniques Blush Brush.

Thank you for reading lovelies!

Please don't hesitate to comment or follow me on BlogLovin!

Victoria Louise x

Spot-Fighting Drugstore Skincare Review

Hey lovelies,
Sorry for the lack of posts but I've just been so busy with exam prep! I thought I'd do a post today reviewing three products I've been using for at least the past three months now, as I've been trying to reduce the amount of spots I get, read on to find out if it worked.

Clean & Clear Advantage Spot Treatment Gel

I bought this a while back in hopes I could tame any spots that appeared on my face through stress or just hormones, as my previous spot treatment didn't do a single thing, and wow did it work! Now I honestly love this treatment as even though there isn't a lot, it's cheap and you only need the tiniest of amounts. It states it will "After 4 Hours, spot size and redness are noticeably reduced". Now I can't comment on the four hours as I only apply spot treatments at night as I don't like how it sits under makeup but that could just be me. But after waking up my spot has either completely gone or dramatically reduced! I think I will definitely repurchase this and the fact there's still loads left when I've been using it pretty often highlights how much you actually get for the price.

You can purchase it here for £3.49.

The Body Shop Blackhead Tea Tree Exfoliating Wash

I've had this for a while back and after researching this wash to put a link to it when I uploaded this post I realised this is no longer being sold. But, honestly you're not missing out. I found this exfoliating wash did nothing for my face nor the blackheads on my nose I was trying to combat. The wash was a nice creamy texture which was the only plus side, but the fact it didn't reduce any blackheads - it's main purpose, I found left it to be a great disappointment. Even more so, the 'crushed apricot stones' were too harsh for my sensitive skin and even more so I could not use this as a wash. I had to limit my use to it to once-to-twice a week. 

Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser

And last but not least, is Biore's anti-blackhead cleanser and this is undoubtedly my favourite product! I've purchased this for a second time and absolutely adore it. Firstly, it's cheap which is always positive. Secondly, it warms up when you're massaging it into the skin which is a) SO COOL and b) helps you realise it's actually doing something. Now, I must admit it didn't dramatically reduce the amount of blackheads I had but it reduced the amount of breakouts and also reduced the amount of spots I had that were under the skin. I also really like the smell and find it's just a really lovely product. But, although it's not too harsh I did find it better to limit it to using it every other day due to me having combination skin but besides that it's lovely! My only wish would be to change the packaging so that you could see how much product is left as you can't tell as it's all white.

You can purchase here for £4.99.

Thank you for reading!

Please let me know in the comments if there are any spot fighting drugstore products you know of that work miracles! Don't forget to subscribe and/or follow me on BlogLovin!

Victoria Louise x

Worth The Splurge: Emma Hardie 'Amazing Face' Collection Review

Hey beauties,
I thought I'd do a review on a high-end product that hit the beauty bloggers earlier this year. I'd actually bought the beginner set for this last year, which was featured on one of my monthly favourite posts. But, I thought I should do a more in-depth review due to it being quite high priced and the fact it's pretty different from your average cleanser and exfoliator. As, when I first bought this I was a tad confused how to use it, even though it was explained to me in Space NK (woops). So, this is for anyone that is considering investing in any of the products mentioned or has, and isn't entirely sure if they're using it right.

Moringa Cleansing Balm and Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds

Firstly is the Moringa Balm which I adore and this is the bigger version which I re-purchased off Feel Unique for £34.Now this is a massive amount which I was pleased to find when I opened it for how expensive it is. I feel this cleansing balm can be used for any skin type, especially dry or ageing skin. It's especially good for young, sensitive skin a.k.a me! I can fully support that this doesn't upset my skin nor break me out. This cleanser smells so lovely, it reminds me of a spa, and leaves my skin looking healthy, hydrated and glowing. Something I find really hard to achieve in the harsh winter weather. So if you have young skin I actually fully recommend this as I find it's perfect for me. The only skin type I'd be wary for is extremely oily or acne prone, as it doesn't really aim to combat acne merely improve your actual skin itself. I use this by applying about a 2p sized amount (dependent on how much make-up is on my face) in my hand, then adding a tiny bit of water until it's creamy and then gently applying and massaging into the face. This is perfect as it also removes eye make-up successfully! I then remove it with the damp cleansing cloth, which I still have from the beginners kit, (I would have took a photo of it but it's not very clean), until all my make-up is removed. I also love the cleansing cloth and I actually use it to remove other cleansers and face masks, as it's soft enough that doesn't tug at the skin but effective enough it gets deeper dirt out of your pores.

Secondly is the Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds which were included in the beginners kit at Space NK costing £32. Sadly, the glowing review does not continue onto this product. The main reason I still have these and resulted in re-purchasing the Moringa Balm was because these still remained from my beginners kit. My main reason I dislike these seeds is because I find them too harsh on my skin and actually result in leaving it extremely red. Also, I find that you end up needing quite a lot of the cleansing balm to balance a small amount of the seeds so that you don't end up scratching your face off. Although, I do adore the packaging and the fact it reminds me of a salt/pepper shaker is quite cute. I would not recommend these exfoliating seeds for anyone with sensitive skin or dry skin as I find they are just too harsh. They may leave my skin ultimately soft but it's not worth all the hassle when I can achieve the same effect with a much cheaper, easier exfoliator.

Overall Result:
Is it worth the splurge?
For the Cleansing Balm I'd definitely say yes! If you have the skin types I mentioned or you want to achieve healthy, glowing skin - especially good purchase for this weather!
But, sadly for the Rosehip Exfol
iating Seeds I'd say no. Although I believe you can only purchase these with the beginners set, I believe you'd want to decide whether to pay more for the balm separately and the cloth or just buy the beginners kit which is cheaper and try it out for yourself!

Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed this review, my next upcoming posts are going to be a post on my favourites from a particular brand and my autumn/winter favourite products!
Please subscribe, comment and follow me on BlogLovin,
Victoria Louise x