SKINCARE ROUTINE

First of all I would like to brief you on my skin a little. I have combination skin. Sometimes my face is a tiny bit oily in some places but I also get dry patches. Moreover, I have always had quite problematic skin; even before I started wearing makeup I had acne but now I'm getting better at keeping it under control and feel comfortable using all of the following products.

Thank you for reading...

Night Time

• I start by removing my eye makeup with the Garnier Simply Essentials Gentle Eye Make-up Remover. I really like this! It erases all traces of eye make up and doesn't leave your eyes feeling sticky afterwards. Also, it was only £2.99 from Boots.
• After I have used this, I move on to removing the rest of the makeup on my face. To do so, my first step is using my Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Exfoliating Cleanser. Elizabeth Arden is one of my favourite cosmetic brands; I adore both their skincare and beauty products and nothing I've tried has ever dried out my skin or broke me out. I love this exfoliating cleanser as the beads are quite fine and it's fairly grainy so it's not too harsh to use everyday, but I can still feel it working. Furthermore, depending on how wet your skin is upon application, it works as a foaming cleanser. I'm not too sure how I feel about foaming cleansers but I know this will be a staple in my skincare routine. Being a 'higher end' product, this is more on the expensive side at £18 from Debenhams. Even though I received it as a free gift, I still believe that it is worth the money.
• I then use my Nivea Daily Essentials 2 in 1 Cleanser & Toner. This removes makeup as well as moisturises the skin. This can last so long if you only use a little - which is all you need. I really like it however if you already have oily skin and you use it more than once a day then it may worsen the problem. When I first purchased it, I was a little confused on how to use it ngl. You see, I've never really used a cleanser that requires being washed off after application so I was a little thrown off but now it works fine for me; I pour a small amount onto a cotton pad and massage it into my skin, I then use a  damp cotton pad to wipe it off. This leaves my face feeling clean and refreshed. I think I bought it from Wilko a while ago because it was on offer but you can otherwise pick it up from Boots for £3.59.
• Next, I tone again using my Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Toner. Like my Elizabeth Arden cleanser, I also received this as free gift when I spent over a certain amount at Elizabeth Arden - I think. To purchase this alone it also costs £18 from Debenhams. This is the final stage in my cleansing and toning nightly routine. It is crucial for me as it is my last step in ensuring my face is totally clean and free from any makeup or impurities the previous products may have left behind. Therefore, I love this product as it does exactly that!
• The last product I use every night is my Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Lotion with Spf 15. I like this because it feels lightweight on my skin but is still really moisturising; it's great for my combination skin. This product also came included in my free gift set thing but out of all the Visible Difference products I have tried, I feel like this one is the worst value for money. From Debenhams it is £34 for 50ml. I like it, but I don't like it that much.

Morning

• My morning routine is significantly simpler then my night one, mainly because I'm too tired to do things on a morning. Firstly I use my Nivea Daily Essentials 2 in 1 Cleanser & Toner.
• Then, if it's a typical British day I use my Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser. This is like one of my holy grail skincare products. I love it! It is £3.59 from Boots and more than worth the money. My friend Megan recommended this to me last year and I truly adore her for it (shout out to Megan's Youtube channel). When I first began using it, my breakouts and blemishes faded so much. It's so worth the price and it doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy at all. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

• However, if we do actually have a genuinely sunny day I switch it up a bit. Instead of my Clean & Clear moisturiser I use my Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Sun Defence for Face, yes, yet another Elizabeth Arden product. I use this on hot, Summer days as it has an outstanding Spf 50! It is sold singularly for about £25 however you can buy from Debenhams an Eight Hour Face and Sun Duo for £30.

Later alligators x

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Hey guys! It's getting close to Christmas, are you excited? I know I sure am. To be honest, I never usually am excited however this year, as supposed to just getting money I've actually asked for a few things and I think it's probably because of this that I am. Also, I'm very anxious to give my family the presents I've bought for them this year whereas my Grandma, my Mam and my Dad usually buy each others presents from me, from me so their gifts tend to have no personal aspect. That brings me onto the actual point of this post: what presents I have bought for my family. This year, as me and my friends didn't buy for each other I had money to get my family a little something each. I say 'little' because it isn't really much; I have spent around £10 on each of the four people so maybe this could help you with some last-minute gifts as well as perhaps, on a budget...

My Mam

I done my Christmas shopping while with my Mam this year so she ended up picking out her own present. She chose a red glittery scented candle in red glass container from Marks & Spencer. I can't find it on the M&S website but I think it was around £20 but c'mon, who's going to pay £20 for candle? Certainly not me, I'm not made of money! Pfft! Anyway, it was half price so I got it for just under £10. Any woman would love to receive a candle for Christmas so this, or something similar, would be a great gift for a Mother, Grandmother, girlfriend etc. My Mam said she's looking forward to burning her candle on Christmas day-night. Also, as this particular candle is red, it will add a warm, homely feel to any room and will look lovely when my family are all sitting room the TV at night.

My Grandma

I don't usually shop at M&S however I've ended up buying most of my presents from their. Such as my next item, a pair of diamond earrings for my Grandma. 

Sorry for the terrible quality photo but it's the only picture I could find of them on the internet - and like all my other presents, they are now wrapped up. These are the Autograph Double Cube Drop Earrings, they are made with Swarovski elements and were £12.50. However, since I bought them they have been reduced to £8.75! So if you're looking for a last minute present and you're on a budget I'd definitely recommend these earrings. Although you can't see it on this picture, in person they are so sparkly and catch the light beautifully, I'm not one for girly, shiny things but I truly believe no girl could resist these gorgeous earrings - and for £8.75, how could anyone not buy them. 

My Granda

I bought my Granda two things: firstly, the typical gift of a pair of socks. My Granda really does appreciate socks and actually always asks for them. However, I didn't buy him any normal socks.

The first present I bought for him was these Cotton Rich Grandad Socks again, from Marks & Spencer. I bought them for £3.50 but guess what, these have also been reduced to £2.45! The man on these socks are really the complete opposite of my Granda who has long, curly black hair, wears black leather jackets (with tassells on the sleeves) and not forgetting the snake's skin cowboy boots! However me and my Granda always joke around and take the mick out of each other, although a lot of the time I end just doing it to humour him, so I'm hoping he'll get the joke in the socks.

This is the next present I bought my Granda. Also from M&S, I got this Blue Harbour Harvard Mug Gift Set for half price so this is something I actually did get at the reduced price for £3.75 down from £7.50. This is a brand my Granda has used before and according to my Mam, he is very fond of it. These are both great gifts for a Granda or even if you want to buy the socks for someone who isn't a Grandad as a joke present.

My Dad

This is the last one and finally something not from Marks & Spencer. I got my Dad a frying pan, I know, a bit unconventional but he loves useful present and as he's quite a good cook, I wouldn't go as far as to call him a chef but he's Ok. 

I bought my Dad a frying pan. However I didn't waste £12.99 on an ordinary frying pan, I believe it was £12.99 well spent on a Tefal Non-Stick Frying Pan. An advert came on the TV for one of these not long ago and my Dad said how good and worthwhile an invention it was - as supposed to the other useless stuff popping up all of the place these days. I think he will be pleasantly surprised when he opens this.

So that's it. I hope I've given you some inspiration for any (very) last-minute gifts you may need to buy- it's the 21st of December man! 

Later Alligators x

TOPSHOP MOTO MOM JEANS

As it's getting colder now, I thought I should look into getting some more weather appropriate trousers - leggings are all I ever wear. I was watching one of my favourite youtubers, Beth, the other day and she was wearing a pair of Topshop Mom Jeans. I remembered I had something similar already but as my Mum is taking me shopping for Christmas I thought I'd look into these anyway. They are only £40 which I thought quite reasonable for Topshop.

The pair I want are the MOTO Bleach Acid Mom Jeans. I prefer these jeans worn high-waisted although I have seen some people wearing them at the hips.  It is also so easy to change from a casual look to a more dressed up look as well as being worked around to fit each season varying shoes, top and accessories.

If you find £40 too much, there are plenty of other alternatives to the ones from Topshop. If you look hard enough I know you will be able to find a great pair in a local vintage or thrift store. In my opinion, these jeans are a must-have, and not just for Winter as they are so versatile!

Later alligators x

NYC EXPERT LAST NAIL POLISH

Colours (from left to right) - Classy Glassy 138, Pinstripe White 134,  Red me the news 261, A suitcase and a Donut 259, Money never sleeps 263, City Blackout 119.

I love all NYC nail polish! They apply so well and most of the time you can get away with just one coat. On the packaging it says that they last up to 10 days; they are long-lasting however the longest I have kept them on for was one week which I think is still very impressive as I often struggle to keep nail varnish on for any longer than two days. I also find them to be a very reasonably priced at just £2.49, furthermore, they are frequently on offer in Superdrug (3 for 2 on all NYC products).

I am currently wearing 'Money never sleeps'. This kind of dark metallic green I have really been loving recently so when I saw this I just had to buy it. These colours are really not done justice on the pictures so I highly recommend you have a look for them next time you're at the drug store.

Remember to follow this blog to keep track of more things I'm lovin'! Later alligators! x

REVLON PHOTOREADY FOUNDATION (UPDATED) & ELF STUDIO MIST & SET

I absolutely love the ELF Studio Mist & Set! I mentioned both of these products in my last post but back then I had so much praise for the Revlon PhotoReady foundation. However, since then I have developed a disliking of it. In my last post I explained how I used both of these products together but once or twice I used the foundation without the setting spray and in comparison, my skin looked so much better when using both. I'm not sure how my opinion of it could have changed so drastically but in contrast to my last post, even with just one layer it looked so cakey and had a horrible, kind of cracked appearance on my skin after a few hours.

                                     

Recently I have changed to the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! foundation with the setting spray and I much prefer the finish. I would recommend the ELF Studio Mist & Set to anyone. Despite it being smaller than I expected when it arrived, I still think that it is such good value for. It's only £3.50 from eyeslipsface.co.uk! To anyone who hasn't used ELF before I would definitely recommend they check it out because I have never been disappointed with anything I have ever ordered. The products are all really good quality but all so cheap!




Remember to follow this blog to keep track of more things I'm lovin'! Later alligators! x

REVLON PHOTOREADY FOUNDATION

So this is the Revlon PhotoReady foundation. I purchased it about a week ago and so far I'm pretty impressed. It was £9.99 from Superdrug and mine is in shade 003 SHELL. I usually stick to Rimmel London for foundation, I'm a fan of both the Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation and the Match Perfection foundation. They've both served me very well but this time when I came to buy a new one, I just fancied a change.

This foundation goes on so well, it's just so silky smooth. It's also quite long lasting. I use the ELF Studio Mist & Set over my makeup and since starting to use both of these products I've noticed my foundation stay on all day - well at least until I get home from school. The coverage I would say would be medium however it is buildable. As I problems with spots, with this foundation I tend to wear two layers but I don't think it looks at all cakey.

As you can probably tell, this is a picture I took myself. I know it's not the best so let me know if you would prefer for me to take pictures myself or just get them from the internet. Remember to follow this blog to keep track of more things I'm lovin'! Later alligators! x

BLACK CUT OUT CHUNKY BUCKLE ANKLE BOOTS

I NEED THESE BOOTS! I've seen these Jeffrey Campbell style cut-out boots everywhere recently but I fell in love with these particular ones from River Island. They were out of stock when I first saw them but they re-stocked, and sold out again; in all sizes bar seven! I'm not a seven. I'm usually a size six however I tried some similar ones on in the shop but found them a tad too big, so a seven will definately not work! These are £65 which is fairly good compared to some I've seen. I'm absolutely distraught I can't get them... yet.

As well as in stores, I've also seen this style of boot a lot on Tumblr. I have a 'pale/grunge' type blog so this is the kind of thing you expect to see. They are an acquired taste and I must admit, I wasn't too keen on these at first, so i'm a bit late on the bandwagon.

So this was my first proper post and I hope you'll soon get the jist of what I'm about here. Remember to follow this blog to keep track of more things I'm lovin'! Later alligators! x