Basic Skincare Routine

For the past 6 months I've been investing more money into my skincare and finding a good routine (which used to be a make-up wipe and slapping on nivea). Without a doubt it's worth the time and money because looking after your skin in the long run, will pay off big time. There's only so much make-up can do, a good base is so important.

Here's my basic routine at the moment and the products I'm currently in love with:

Clinique Take The Day Off cleansing balm - £21

For £21 it's not cheap but it's certainly not as expensive as other cleansing balms that do the same thing. Also because it's a balm a little goes a long way, personally I think this is a very good price for what you get.

 This will take ALL your make-up off and it will do it effortlessly. It's for all skin types and even works for those with sensitive skin as it's not fragranced. I literally rub it into my eyelashes and it does not irritate even slightly. 

To use: Take a small amount, and massage into face (dry) over all make-up. Use a flannel or muslin cloth to wash away. I keep mine with a stack of cloths so I have a clean one for every day. 

After cleansing I go to:

Pixi Glow Tonic - £16

This is my go to toner, it's amazing, it's so cheap and I'm really sorry it's a bitch to get hold of!

This sorts out any of my dry and flaking patches of skin, it will really help if you're prone to break outs, it's just an amazing exfolliator. 

However, I also use the Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfolliant (it lives at my boyfriends place) and I LOVE it! Little bit more expensive than pixi glow at £17 for 150ml but much easier to get your hands on.

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Toning Agent - £17 for 100ml

I have a tiny 50ml bottle that I got from the skincare starter set (worth a buy if you haven't used Aveda before) that seems to be lasting me ages. This is a toner I use on days when I'm taking a break from Pixi glow, or over Pixi glow. I can't really explain why I love it so much, but I really do. 

I love that it's a spray?! But honestly it's a great product that makes a difference. Lovely for dry skin. 

Hydraluron - £24.99

A hideous price but a great product, make sure you look out for when it's on offer at Boots. It's a serum you put on before moisturising and it absorbs instantly and absorbs your moisturiser. Works great with my dry skin, gives my skin a lovely plump appearance!

Origins Make A Difference + - £34

This is a new addition to my collection so I won't go into it too much. So far so good, feels lovely on the skin and really moisturising. I don't think you can go wrong with Origins when looking for a moisturiser.

I use it morning and night!

So that's it, my basic daily skincare routine! I think the most important part of skincare is that it is a routine, you need to stick to it. Even when you're tired or a make-up wipe is nearer! Do any of these ring a bell? Let me know what products you are using, I'd love to get some recommendations!

Natural Glow Make-Up

So as a part of college last week I did the hair, make-up and photography to produce a photo shoot on the theme of "No make-up, make-up". This is all about creating a natural look with flawless skin but so it appears the model isn't wearing make-up at all. It's commonly used in skincare adverts (sneaky). I thought I'd share with you the look I went for with a glow to the skin.

My beautiful friend Fen Barr was sweet enough to come model for me and how fantastic does she look?

skin 

I started with Benefit High Beam on her cheek bones, brow bone and her cupids bow. I also re-applied this over the foundation too to give a beautiful highlight to her skin. Fen naturally has such clear skin, so I blended two shades of Kryolan Ultra Fluid Foundation to give an even but not heavy coverage. I used Kryolan Derma Colour to cover any dark patches or blemishes and MAC Select MoistureCover concealer around the eyes.

I used the highlight from the Sleek Contour Kit to highlight areas of her face, although this has small glitter specks in so be careful when photographing this. I then used Nars Laguna bronzer to contour and add warmth back to her face.

Eyes

Keeping to the natural look I used natural matte eye shadows to add some colour and shape to her eyes and Urban Decay shadow in Virgin to highlight the inner corner and under the brow bone. I LOVE this shade.

I also took a natural matte shadow through her brows with a small angled brush and brushed a clear mascara through to hold them in place. I put some black eyeliner onto a very thin brush and painted inbetween her lashes to give a light natural defintion. To finish off the eyes I put a small amount of white eye pencil on the water line.

Lips

I used a lipstick in a natural shade that had a slight peach tone to go with her beautifully tanned skin and added a lttle MAC lipglass to the centre of her lips and blended out. This enlarges the look of the lips and a slight shine for a healthy look.

Products Used:

- Benefit High Beam

- Sleek Contour kit

- NARS Laguna bronzer

 - Urban Decay Naked pallet

- MAC Lip glass

- MAC Select MoistureCover Concealer

 - MUA White eyeliner pencil

So there you have it, who else loves this natural make-up look? I can't wait to try it on myself now.