Make-up look of the day- 24th February 2014

Hi Everyone!

A quick, little post of the make-up look I created.

I'm still learning when it comes to eye make up but I think I'm doing an ok job. I feel a lot more comfortable with my foundation and I'm deeply in love with this nude/ slightly rosey shade from Topshop.

Items used to achieve this look:
Eyes- Undressed Palette - MUA
Lips- Rumour has it -Topshop
Eye liner- Fast Stroke -Collection
Blush- Plum Puff - Seventeen
Foundation- Caramel - Dream Matte Mousse - Maybelline
Concealer- No.9 - True Match - LOreal

 Have you tried any of the items above and what do you think of them?
                     Thanks for popping by, Dawn x

Montagne Jeunesse Mud Pac- anti stress

Hey Beauties!

I really adore face masks. There is nothing better than sitting back, relaxing and feeling a mask get to work.
The Montagne Jeunesse masks are super inexpensive and wildly available from drug stores and pharmacies so I tend to pick up Two or Three at a time, tee hee.

The face mask of choice today is the Dead Sea, anti- stress mask which claims to 'draw out impurities and  open blocked pores to leave skin feeling cleansed and soft.'
I heard and read a lot in the past about the properties of Dead Sea mud such as it being effective for healing skin diseases and Psoriasis. Thankfully I have neither and it's just the oily, out of control T zone to take care of today.

After removing all make-up and thoroughly cleansing my face with warm water, I applied the mask to my face, working from my nose and outwards. I like to do this because if I have a good amount of product left over it can be applied on the area I have the most problems with. I always have enough to cover my face twice. The mask can be applied to the neck area but it's not something that I do.



Be as careful as you can when applying mask around the eye area. As the mask hardens and becomes tighter, it pulls on the skin and can feel uncomfortable.

The scent of the pac is soothing and calm, slightly minty like spearmint gum while the consistency is easy to work with and smooth out across the face and under the chin area.
The mud pac started to become tight after Twelve minutes or so and I kept it on for Twenty- Five minutes in total.

my best teenage mutant ninja turtle impression 

Washing the mask off my face was easy as with warm water the mask turns in to a silky, milk type of texture. Without looking into the mirror to see where the mask is, you can feel the difference between the fresh, cleansed skin and where it's partly washed off.

I'm really happy with the end result. My skin feels hydrated, clean, extremely soft and smooth.
I followed up with a light night cream which I massaged thoroughly into my skin before going to bed.
I'm a lot happier with this mask compared to the Simple Deep Cleansing Face mask.
To those concerned, the mud pac is Vegetarian approved and BUAV approved.

I would love to know what skin type you have and which face masks you've tried.

                                                        Thanks for stopping by! Dawn x

Dinner for Two

Hello Amigos!

Valentines Day was the last time I ate at GBK and seen as I love their burgers, milkshakes, sides and sauces, it made sense to spend that loving day doing the thing I love best. Stuffing my face with food.

Now before I go into what we had to eat you have to understand that I'm crazy for blue cheese. I don't know what it is about it but I just get really excited about it and want to gobble it up in an instant. Even thinking about it now has got me dribbling slightly.
I think it's the best thing in the world to know a restaurant well enough that you don't have to look at a menu but the waiting for it arrive at your table is a mixture of torture and bliss.

Kiwi Burger

GBK cater for every appetite. Beef cooked to your preference, Chicken- chargrilled or crumbed & fried and three vegetarian options. Burgers start from £6.75 but they have a lunch menu or something similar which the price is a little lower. The milkshakes are extremely delicious and thick. I love Oreo milkshake is regular favourite. Fresh and Fizzy in Citrus is a great for a refreshing drink and drink up because you get free refills!

Oreo Milkshake 

The Blue Cheese burger has a house mayonnaise, relish and salad. You can choose from a blue cheese sauce or a slice of Gorgonzola (kinda salty). This burger never fails to deliver in flavour and never fails to satisfies my hunger.

Blue Cheese burger

onion rings & chunky chips

Tell me what your favourite meals and drinks are?

Thanks for reading,

Dawn x
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Nails of the week - Friday 14 February 2014

Hello Amigos! This week's Nails of the week is all about Claire's nail polishes, more specifically Galactic and Metallic Lavender. 

Metallic Lavender is a cross between a gentle Mauve shade with a splash of silver. I like my nail colour to be quite strong so I used my trusty Barry M - All in One as a base coat and followed up with two coats of Metallic Lavender and All in One as a top coat. This nail colour is perfect pastel shade to add to an outfit that consist of bright colour blocking.

Galactic injects fun and sparkle into a muted nail colour like Metallic Lavender. I would recommend that One coat of nail colour is needed if you plan on having a glitter polish on top as it chipped two days after application.

Earlier this year I fell in love with Matte nail polishes so I was really excited to try the Matte Top Coat from Claire's. The formula wasn't thick or difficult to work with and I felt my nails actually dried quicker so I didn't need to use a nail drying spray. Sadly after a month the consistency of it was stiff, thick (ha ha) like syrup.
My nails kept up for two to Three days before I had a chip which isn't the best but If you like change then it works to your advantage.

Claire's has a great selection of colours, polish effects and tools for producing nail art from the simple to complex. Price starts at £2.50 for polishes.

Link some some of your nail art or recommendations in the comments if you have any.


Dawn x


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Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

Hey Amigos! This post is a fresh as my face is feeling right now because of the wonderful, heaven sent
Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips.

I've been battling in the war against my pores from my teens and although I have found a lot of great remedies they sadly only gave the desired effect for a short time. I have combination/ oily skin and more frequently the past few weeks I have been reaching for blotting paper in order to manage the situation which has been helping but not targeting the real issue.

I few weeks back I wrote about Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask and that it seemed to do the trick but I felt I would have to use it everyday to achieve the outcome I wanted. I've since made the decision that I don't think it works for me and that was when I decided to try these cleansing strips.

I wanted to really put the Simple face mask to the final test before I gave it the heave ho, so I applied the mask onto my face and left it  to settle for around ten minutes before massage/washing it off my face.
The deep cleansing strips are best applied on a damp face so no better time than after you have washed your mask off. Each pore strip is in it's own foil packet with an easy open tab at the top so no silly fiddling about.
I peeled of the clear plastic from the cleansing strip and placed the strip sticky side down on my nose making sure it covered below the tip of my nose as that is where I have the most problems.
Applying the strip as smooth as you can is important as you don't want to have uneven of areas which did/didn't take.
After 15 minutes it felt stiff so I slowly lifted the strip from left to right and I instantly feel the already exposed skin was clean and refreshed. Looking at the how much was deposited on to it shocked and amazed me but most of all I'm happy I've found something that really targets the issue (fingers crossed!).

I'm hoping that my skincare routine will feel more worth the time as I feel this was a main reason some of the products I use were not showing their true potential.

Thanks for reading

Dawn x

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Rimmel Lasting Finish in Azure

         

Kicking off the week with Azure by Rimmel London from their Lasting Finish collection. This colour is the most adoring mix between Blue and Green, I honestly feel like Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I have never seen such a beautiful teal colour in my life! The colour manages to have an mystical yet remain cute simultaneously. Two coats of Azure will suffice to give full on colour. Each nail has taken on a slight unique shade of it own.

I used Barry M- All in One as a base and top coat and two coats of Azure was enough to have full coverage. The colour tone from the bottle doesn't do the actual application colour justice so give it a go, you won't regret it.

Dawn x

This post was inspired by Beauty Crush's Blue On Blue

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Nails of the Week - Friday 7 February 2014

 

Hey Folks, a quick little ramble about a new nail colour I picked up this week by Sinful Colors in the shade Dancing Nails.

I used All in One by Barry M as a base coat and top coat and the two coats glided onto the nail with ease, drying super quick so no need to use dry nail spray.

I adore this beautiful  Rose Gold colour teeny tiny flecks of glitter so small I think my eyes are playing tricks on me. Nonetheless it catches the light gently, adding a gentle pop of colour to an outfit.

Dancing Nails has been the colour of the week and with that comes all manner of tasks to be taken care of.
These two managed to hold it together fantastically throughout the week. I'm not say that I didn't have a few chips here and there but who doesn't, eh? Reapplication was always smooth and dried in no time which is the best for those last minute fixes. For the most part the formulas held to my nails as if I wasn't wearing anything at all.

Tell me what your favourite nail colours are in the comment box, I'd love to check them out. x


With Love

Dawn


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Botanics Organic Rosewater Spritz

Hey Everyone, I've been trying out a few toners lately and the one that my skin is loving is from the Botanics range at Boots. If your combination/oily skin has got you down in the dumps you may want to give this a try.

I discovered Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz after I had tried different product from Boots Rosewater but with Glycerine which I think made my skin a lot more oiler than it was in the first place but that's another blog post.

Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz is 100% organic so it's all natural and I didn't have to worry about unpronounceable names in the ingredients too much. It claims to refresh your skin  and visibly tighten pores, (thumbs up) enliven senses, remove last traces of make up leaving skin feeling smoother and fresher, ready for moisturising.

What I love about this product the most is that all I have to do is spray a light mist onto my face after cleansing etc and wipe round in circles with a cotton pad to lift the last of any make up or impurities from my skin. No longer do I have to transfer toner from bottle to cotton pad and then to face. It takes removes an unnecessary step from my routine and for me that means a lot when it's time for bed.
I repeat this step until skin feels relaxed and clear.

Since using this toning spray my skin has been less oily and my pores are tighter, less noticeable. Primer application around my nose is easier and I don't have to blot as much. I obviously still get oily from time to time, that's comes along with being a woman but this has really helped out.


If you've tried any amazing toners please comment so I can check them out.

With love,

Dawn


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