GlaStoNbUry MakEup TimE

Trying to keep yourself looking as non zombie after spending afew days in a field, drinking far too much and not washing is difficult, you can easily end up looking like an extra from Dawn of the Dead.

Not the best look

Partying starts to take a toll on your complexion, hair and sanity.
When going to a festival you don't want to pack too much as you have to carry it across a field, so I've thought of the essential makeup I will need.
Firstly I will apply  a SPF enriched moisturiser ( as seen in my previous blog). I will be covering the dark circles with the amazing Mac Studio Finish, SPF 35 concealor in NW15. To bring some colour back to your face blush is your friend, my tip is to use a cream based one ( no need for tools- just fingers), Bourjours mini pot creme blush shade no2 is a lovely peachy flush or Daniel Sanders Watercolour blush in acid which is an amazing bright pink, both blend into the skin beautifully  and you can build up the colour.

On my eyes I'm going to use Mac paint pot in Paintly as a base which is a lovely pale colour, when hungover (as I will be) the last thing I want to do is mess around with brushes (also its less to pack) this is easily applied with fingers.
At festivals I think the more glitter the better, you can go big,bright and bold or keep it light and sparkly.
 I am taking a gorgeous eye shadow by Nars Baby Peach which is a bronze/copper/gold colour and a Mac pigment pot in Blonde's Gold which is an amazing bronze/gold.

By the evening I will probably use eyeliner for a cat flick, just to make my look more party. I've also bought a purple mascara by Miss Sporty (only £2.99! ), coloured mascaras are big at the moment and a really fun alternative to usual black lashes. Brows as usual, then finish with either Vaseline or a really bold lip colour, I'm thinking a deep purple.

My makeup kit

 To be honest I think all rules are out of the window at a festival, its time to experiment and have fun!
What I'm wearing is tomorrows blog...my main rule will be don't over pack...we shall see.
Laters

GlAstonBury TinGs - pAckiNg For feStivals

Festival season is upon us and me and the boy are off to GLASTONBURY!! I cannot wait, in less than 2 weeks I will be wearig my wellies waiting to watch Dolly Parton (one of many playing).

Festival Essentials

Its my first time going to Glastonbury, I've done Reading Fest afew times but from what I've seen and heard Glasto is a whole new level of fun times. With this in mind this blog is going to be a three parter, part 1 - what skincare essentials to take pt 2 - makeup and haircare and pt 3 -  what to wear.

The most important thing is sun protection.
Ive spoken afew times about my need for spf in face products, I think its the most IMPORTANT thing. But its even more important when you are going to be spending most of your day in a huge field with not much shade. I like my skin to be goth like; pale and interesting, I also see this as hopefully my key to staying wrinkle free longer.
For my face its factor 50 all the way, in the past this meant thick cream that clogged pores and left a ghostly, greasy residue on the skin but no more, my two faves are-
Garnier Ambre Solaire sensitive advanced SPF 50 and Alpha H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50 both lightweight.
 Ive found that the Alpha H works better on my combination skin and stays mattifyed for longer it contains vitamin e and aloe vera so its very soothing on the face.Garnier is slightly richer and takes a little bit more work to soak into the skin but both are fantastic bases for light foundation or CC cream.
 In terms of body I use either SPF 30 or 50 and at the moment Boots Soltan range is half price so thats what I purchased, the  bottle is only £5 which I think is rather good, in the past I have used Superdrug own brand which I also rate. My bottle also contains insect repellent as mosquitos love to bite me and the nice thing is the lotion doesnt contain the odd fragrance that most insect sprays have.
While spending 4 days in field I've found in the past its a rather water free( in terms of washing) zone, so this means wipes for face and body. Now I would never chose a wipe over warm water and face wash/cleanser but at festivals I find its the best and quickest/most convenient way to get clean. Ive chosen fragrance free baby wipes for my body, I prefer them fragrance free as I find them gentler on the skin, these were £1 from Wilkinson.
Face wipes can be extremely drying and astringent so I've selected 2 that I hope will be gentle yet effective on my face, for the evening Simple Clear skin Oil Balancing with zinc ( which gently absorbs excess oil) these wipes are great for oily/combination skin. They will take all my makeup off including mascara and leave my skin feeling fresh. For the morning I've bought Loreal Age Perfect cleansing wipes enriched with vitamin C for mature skin, as im gettin older I need a wipe that is gonna to feed my skin and keep it soft. Its going to be feeling dehydrated from all the alcohol and sunshine so any extra moisture I can get in I will take, I tried to remove my makeup but found they weren't very effective.
My main tip is just keep hydrated by drinking as much water as you can, I'm going to carry a bottle with me everywhere I go, its the best thing you can give your skin.
The next blog will be about which makeup to take, you don't want lots of products weighing you down and also some essential haircare ideas.
Laters  x

AsoS TimE

I had a lovely little delivery from Asos this week, these always make me happy :-D
Me and the boy are going to Glastonbury in less than a month!!! ( so excited as I've only been to Reading Fest before) .
I've started to think about things I need.. a poncho is one of these. Glastonbury is one of those festivals where it will be ridiculous hot yet you can guarantee at least one day of rain so I need something I can slip on at a moments notice and is easy to carry round with me.

I hope it doesnt rain but if it I does I now own a poncho in a bag and its polka dot.

I will be doing a few blogs on my preparations for Glasto, both skincare and clothing.
We are also off to Bruges in Belgium so thinking about what to take there so I  bought the most amazing black velvet ballet pumps, for only £20 which shall walk me round the city.

ColoUr cHaNge

Time has come to dye my hair, I had been a lovely sea green up until February and when I decided to dye it I thought getting it back to brown would not be a problem- I was wrong.

Crazy Colour - Pine green

Firstly the green wouldnt lift so I had to go really dark brown, something I really want to do. After two washes I noticed the green was beginning to return in the ends but in the form of a swampy green, not a good colour.

I thought I would leave it a few months before dying it again, just to give it a rest and hope the green wouylkd eventually wash out- it hasn't. So today was the day.

Ive bought a medium copper brown colour, a mousse dye colour by John Frieda. Last time I used a mousse dye was one of my first hair colouring experiences, it was a Wella mousse in shade plum and it was messy. Maybe this was done to inexperience(I was 13) or maybe the mousse was just very difficult to control, it went everywhere much to my mums disappointment.

This experience was much easier, you mix the two products together and then just squeeze the bottle and foam magically comes out, it isnt messy, doesnt drip,  it stays in a neat pile for you to disperse through your hair then just leave 30mins and rinse. I would definitely use this product again as it was so mess free, with no stained skin and the end colour is a beautiful reddy brown. I'm just hoping the green has gone ( fingers crossed) . Next is time to get it cut!!

End Of dAy FacE RoutiNe Pt DeuX

So here is part deux of my evening facial routine, sorry its taken so long finishing it.
My final cleanser is Garnier Pure Deep Clean foam wash, this is my "help me my skin is breaking out! " go to as its full of magical salicylic acid.
Salicylic acid is a liquid exfoliater so it is really deep cleaning, making your skin super clean and tightening those pores (which I need ). Im not usually an advocater of foam washes as alot if them can strip the skin too much of its natural oils but this one is really effective on my skin, if you are slightly sensitive then maybe one to avoid though.
My toner is the raved about Pixi Glow Tonic, I'd read about this product for months on many beauty blogs mainly off my favourite skincare women - Caroline Hirons. People kept complaining it was constantly out stock due to its demand but I managed to buy mine online with ease.

I love it! Its full of aloe vera which is softening for the skin, ginseng which is a natural supply of oxygen to the skin and horse chesnut which stimulates the skin and circulation which means your skin is left glowing. It also contains glycolic acid which loosens the dead skin so gently exfoliates and is also alcohol free so is safe enough to use twice a day without the worry of stripping your skin. I dont think I will ever use another toner, well not until I can afford to buy P50 ( another Ms Hirons favourite).
To end with I use my favourite night product, I'm on my third bottle of Estee Lauder Advanced night repair- Synchronised recovery complex 2 its the serum of Queens (not that I'm a queen but I can imagine they use this).
This night serum is tried and tested to revive your skin, smooth wrinkles and make it feel fantastic, its a little bit of magic in a tiny bottle. This serum is not cheap £45 for 30ml but I've found a bottle lasts me a year and thats using it every night so actually its worth the pay out.
I also use a eye cream if I remember but there we have it my eveninh routine, at the moment anyway im sure it will change in the next few months :-)
Let me know what you like to use..
Happy Cleansing !!

The BoYs 30th!!

Today was the boys 30th we had good food and lots of cake.

I had his favourite food made into a cake - BLT sandwich and pack of frazzles

So much icing! 

The night has ended in a traditional dirty pint bleaugh

BIRTHDAY BOY!

End Of day FacE RoutiNe Pt 1

When it comes to your face I think one of the most important things you MUST do is wash it every evening. No excuses even if you are drunk, even if you don't wear makeup every day, NEVER go to bed with a grubby face it will only lead to blocked pores and bad looking skin.
Today's blog is about my evening skincare routine, the products I am using at the moment, it changes every few months although some products in this list I return to time and time again. This is  a two parter blog as I there are quite afew products to discuss :)

So the first thing I do is to remove my eyemake, the cleansers I'm using do remove mascara/eye shadow etc but if I've been wearing a lot of eye shadow/gel liner then I reach for this -  Bioderma Sensibio H2O Michelle water.

Its amazing!  If you haven't tried it go buy a bottle now, its the go to for most mua (I get mine from Escentual.com) but other places do it, this is the original and I think best water cleanser. I adore French pharmaceuticals and discovered this in Paris 2 years ago after seeing it repeatedly mentioned on Pixiwoos YouTube videos.
Its fragrance and alcohol free, very gentle on even the most sensitive skin and so easy to use. Just soak a cotton wool pad and hold on your eye for 30 seconds and voilà all traces of makeup gone, so that means no rubbing or dragging at the eye, which is important as the skin in this area is very delicate and wrinkles so easily.

The three cleansers

 Onto my first cleanser, this was a Christmas pressie from my mummy as its a bit pricey, but I think worth the pennies -
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. This product hydrates and cleanses your skin at the same time, you can use it daily but I tend to use it twice a week as I've got rather oily skin and find overuse can be a little bit much for my skin.
Its contains Moringa extract and Vitamin E both of these products rejuvenate, balance and improve the conditon of your skin especially if its feeling dry and dull. When using this product I also take the time to do a mini face massage to get the circulation going, a fantastic way to reduce puffiness around the eye area. This cleanser is simple to use, you just mix a few drops of water with a little bit of the balm (you don't need much as it is very thick) then massage the face, eye and neck area and it melts away all the grime and makeup of the day. To remove it I soak a flannel or Muslim cloth in warm water squeeze out excess water and then wipe over, the slight roughness of a flannel leaves the softest feeling. My skin feels amazing after this and not dry in the slightest, a real treat for the skin.
My second cleanser is an all time favourite, another French company La Roche-Posay Effaclur Purifying Foaming gel.
This product is one I tend to reach for when I've had one too many gins as it removes everything in one go.
All the Last Roche- Posay range is super gentle and aimed towards those with sensitive skin, this cleanser is perfect for oily/combination faces. It contains salicylic acid which is used to combat acne/problem skin, it reduces the amount of sebum (oil) on the skin while also gentley resurfacing the skin by using a chemical exfoliation which also soothes and calms any redness.
It removes my makeup leaving my skin feeling clean and refreshed. I like the simple gel formula,  you just wet your face, take a small amount of product and massage into your face and rinse nice and simple. You can buy La Roche -Posay in Boots aswel as Feeling Unique.com and its mid range price, usually £11.

I'm going to leave the final cleanser for tomorrow, its my go to when my skin is acting up and breaking out. I will also tell you about what toner, serum and eye cream I'm using.  So until tomorrow
Xx