Two Steps For Blemish Free Skin

Today I decided to share with you my go to combination to help target those blemishes that have made an appearance on my face the past few days. Often, you are either stressed, lacking of a balanced diet and eating all the junk food you can find (yes, this is me) or is that time of the month, again. It really doesn't matter the reason behind those spots that you can now see on your chin or forehead but, they're here to stay. Safe to say that we all want them gone in the blink of an eye although we all know it doesn't work that way. 

As any normal girl, I am no exception and lately I've been fighting a battle and even did a little trip to Space NK in the search of a more efficient cleanser. However, when it comes to blemishes I find myself always reaching for these two products and including them in my skincare routine. 

The La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I. is a breakout corrector and it does wonders for those under skin spots. It's easy to detect these as they are painful to touch and you'll know something is about to surface in a few days. Gross, I know ... But this corrector will do its magic by diminishing the appearance of the blemish. Even with under skin acne you'll be able to feel that the spot will become less painful and won't even make a proper appearance to your face. I tend to apply this at night before bed or even under make up if I really want to prevent that blemish to show. You'll only need a tiny bit of product as it should be applied to the spots. As it contains certain exfoliating ingredients, it can become quiet drying if applied to the whole face.

On the other hand, the very hyped La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is the other half of a great combo. I apply this all over my face in order to target any other imperfections. It's a great product to accelerate scaring and keep everything in place. I always find that my skin clears up a fairly bit when frequently using this. The cherry on top of the cake for me would be the fact that this is definitely not drying at all for me but I would still keep using my moisturiser anyway. 

I definitely couldn't recommend these two products enough for blemish prone-skin, specially when you can see results from the Effaclar A.I. overnight! 

What products work for you when it comes to acne?

continue reading

Latest Cravings: Home Edition

I had a completely different post planned for today but, the time I have been spending on Pinterest has left me utterly obsessed with interiors (if that's even possible). So, this Sunday I come to you with another non-beauty subject. 

It has been a long time coming since I started becoming a little impatient about getting my own flat. I've been renting properties since I moved to Scotland, 4 years ago. It's not a great deal of time if we take into account people that do it since they are 18 until about their late 20s. And truth to be told, I have been fairly lucky with flats I've rented in the past - good conditions, space and most of all, good landlords. Now is no exception: Paul and I live in an old tenement flat in the west area of Glasgow which is very sought after. The flat has high ceilings (obviously), spacious rooms and the rent is good enough to still leave you with money at the end of the month. 

I moved into this flat last March 2014 and Paul moved in December of the same year. It hasn't been that long and I honestly don't understand why am I suddenly getting so annoyed with the rental situation as I never cared this much before. I suppose it must be due to the fact that we often speak about getting a place of our own and we know that both of us wish to build a life with each other (how cheesy of me). However, despite the fact that we are actually in the process of starting to look into buying a place we might just end up staying here for a little while. 

A few points that definitely make me want to have my own place include  things like our landlord not allowing anything that implies doing holes on the walls which makes things a bit hard if you want to hang any pictures - therefore, our walls are pretty damn bare! Still about the walls ... they are cream. Beige, yellowish, something - and I hate it. I positively think that if we had white walls, the flat would seem so much brighter! And this is where everything started. My lengthy browses through Pinterest made me decide to not only paint some furniture but also give it a try and change the walls to white - I am sure the landlord won't even notice to be very honest. The carpet which covers the whole flat is yet another thing I would definitely change if I could, specially when I know that we have wooden floorboards underneath it. But oh well, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change as they say. 

This leads to how (far too) often I find myself stalking Katie's (Gh0stparties) and Rebecca's  (From Roses) instagram so, I knew it was time to react and change a few things (whatever can in fact be changed). Here are some inspirational pictures that trigger all this ...

   

  

     

  

  

  

   

 By the time you read this, I already have planned a trip to Homebase and Ikea and will be soon covered in paint!

continue reading

Sale Picks

I should probably start this post by saying that by no means I need any more clothes, bags or anything for that matter. But, as any other gal, there's no such thing as too many. Therefore, with sale season upon us, I've been browsing many, many, many websites (just for leisure, I swear) and stumbled into some interesting sale offers. I always like to pick up a few sale things and take advantage of the offers. I don't actually shop a lot merely because I don't necessarily need anything. However, having to physically go to shops have become too much for me in some occasions and most times I rather sit in my flat with a nice cup of a hot beverage and browse away. These are some of the things that I have picked ...

  

  

  

 

  

Unfortunatly, by the time this post goes live some of the items are already out of stock or I couldn't even link them as they are not available on the website anymore. But, just for reference, the two bags are from Mango.

Have you picked anything on the sales?

continue reading

A Prime Combination

Oh primers. What a wonderful thing! So, I decided to share with you today the primers I am loving at the moment and why they work for me. I first discovered Stila One Step Correct through an advert on YouTube. You know those rather annoying adverts that delay the videos we are trying to watch? Exactly. In theory this was a miracle product. We all know that primers can have different colours corresponding to the concern they are suppose to target. Therefore, the beauty of this Stila product lays on being a 3 in 1 kind of thing. The pink tone brightens up the skin and helps reduce signs of hyper pigmentation/sun spots. Green hides blemishes, reduces redness and the blue gives you overall a more even skin tone. I apply this after my moisturiser and before foundation and definitely see how it improves my complexion even at its worst days. Skin looks clear, skin tone more even and fairly smoother.

However, to completely smooth out all the blemishes or any problematic areas I might have at the time, I use the Elf Poreless Face Primer after applying the Stila One Step Correct. This is my final step before moving on to my make up. The Elf primer is a beautiful product that gives you that very flawless airbrushed look. Foundation goes on evenly as the skin becomes absolutely heavenly smooth with this. I apply a really small amount of it as I find it to be quite concentrate. It does contain silicone but its texture is so similar to foundation that I imagine the traces of silica to be minimum. If you are looking for a affordable smoothing primer, I would definitely give this one a try as it is incredibly inexpensive and shows great results. 

This is my primer duo for a more flawless make up application. What's yours? 

continue reading

Beauty: Where To Splurge

Having a beauty blog, following blogs, watching YouTube videos or even being a girl for that matter, puts you in a place of great temptation to go out and shop. Oh if you only knew how much time I spend scrolling through the ASOS app ... It is not surprising that for most of us there is surely a careful consideration before spending our earned money on something. So today I decided to share with you where I normally spend a few more of my pennies and why. 

When it comes to beauty, skincare products are something which I normally won't budge on. There are great drugstore skincare ranges but given that my skin can sometimes be quite unpredictable, I often reach out for more high end brands to get the job done. If you have good skin then everything will look good on you (almost) - that's my motto. 

Foundation is another big statement when it comes to spend a few extra pounds. Again, there are great products for all skin types, coverage and purpose at the drugstore! Revlon ColorStay, Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation, L'Oreal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation are a few of my favourites. I  personally feel that a high end foundation will back you up even at your worst (skin) times. 

Eye-shadow palettes are for me a great way of having a variety of options all in one place. They seem indeed rather expensive however, if you think about the fact that a Maybelline Color Tattoo is about 5 pounds, a Urban Decay Naked pallete with 12 shades at 38 pounds works out quite well - just as an example. 

Primers. A good primer can perform so many miracles when your complexion is just not collaborating much. In this category I stay a little divided as I am currently loving some much less expensive primers from the drugstore. Although I can only say wonders about the more high end ones I've tried in the past. My love for the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch is still very much alive. 

And finally, brushes. These can be a hit and miss in my opinion. I reckon it is more a matter of brand rather than high end or drugstore. I mean, no one denies how great the Real Techniques brushes are. We all have a great love affair for them. 

What products do you normally splurge on?

continue reading

Photo Diary: A Day Out In the Sun

Today I come at you with a more visual post. Just something light for this Sunday morning. Past Thursday we were blessed with some sun in Glasgow and Paul and I welcomed it with a trip to the park for a little picnic and a wonder around. The opportunities for a day out in Scotland are pretty rare so we better make some memories and take some pictures to look back to. Here are some photos we got that day ...

What about you? What's your favourite activities to do when the sun is out?

continue reading

Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser - A Skin Saviour

As I mentioned before in this post, I have a normal to oily skin and for most of my life my complexion has been very clear until I changed to a contraceptive injection - I went through this here. Long story short, my skin had hit rock bottom and this product from Origins was the only thing that saved it. I first reached out for this at a time that only god knows why but my skin was SO dry it felt like scrapping paper. The very helpful assistant at the Origins counter at John Lewis suggested this daily scrub as well as the High Potency Night-A-Mins for night time moisture. The combination worked wonders and my skin went back to normal. 

But now my concern was different. I started to have numerous tiny spots all over my skin. They were very visible but they were there and you could definitely feel them. Just as if my face was covered with sand which wouldn't come off. 

After trying every cleanser, moisturiser and acne treatments, I decided to repurchase the Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser as I could at least remember how clear and bright my complexion was when I was using it. And it lived up to the hype. I know it may seem a little exaggerate but in all truthfulness, after the very first use, I could feel my forehead much less bumpy and the tiny spots had definitely been reduced and my complexion was overall smother and brighter. 

All in all this is a beautiful gentle scrub which can be used every day, twice a day without drying out your skin. The properties of the panax ginseng (promoting skin cell regeneration) and the coffee beans (bright up dull complexion) are in my opinion very visible as your skin looks immediately luminous and energized. 

Have you tried this? What is your favourite range from origins?

continue reading