Saturday 31 May 2014

Summer Beauty Purchases

Amongst the copious amounts of revision I have been doing, I have been shopping to make myself feel a little better. Summer is peeking out of the exam period of darkness and making me very excited to go home to Leeds and see all my family and friends! I also cannot wait to go on my two upcoming holidays as well as other fun stuff, so all that has been in my mind when browsing the shops. I thought I'd just share a couple of beauty bits I've picked up, as clothes can be really hard to photograph and after all, my blog is mainly beauty focused! Here are a couple of bits that you *need* this summer...


L-R: Garnier Pure Active BB Cream, Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer.
Both blend like a dream!
Garnier Pure Active BB Cream - This new edition of Garnier's traditional BB cream seems to be everything my skin needs. As an oily skinned gal, I find it hard to find light foundations as they tend to make my skin greasy and mostly tend to drier skin types. My skin is oily yet still needs hydration; drying it out can make it even oilier. Finding a balance can be a real issue. This pure active all-in-one anti-imperfections BB cream (mouthful) claims to hydrate, even skin tone, mattify skin, cover redness as well as been 'anti blackheads'. Sounds amazing but lets see if it lives up to my expectations when I'm rocking it these summer months. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - Some bloggers claim this to be better than the beloved Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer as it's a bit lighter so better for under the eyes. Again, I want a lighter base for summer so I reckon this popped under the eyes and on the odd blemish over the BB cream will be amazing in the evenings on holiday.

L'Oreal Nail Polish in 'Lemon Meringue' - When I saw the pastel shades L'Oreal were offering, I knew one of them had to be mine. I have considered purchasing a white nail polish for the summer but this caught my eye as it's a beautiful pastel lemon colour. I love the cute little packaging of these polishes too. They're around a fiver which is quite pricey for the amount you get but their colour range is something else!

Rimmel Finishing Touch Ultra Shine Top Coat - My Seche Vite has dried out horribly and is just so faffy to apply. After reading about how bad it actually is, I confirmed that I wasn't going to repurchase it ever again. Rimmel polishes never fail to unimpress me so I opted for the ultra shine top coat instead. This paired with the L'Oreal lemon shade = glossy nail perfection!

Note: Superdrug currently have a *dangerous* '3 for 2 across all cosmetics' offer.

If you would like to see a review of any of these products let me know. I think I'm going to share my thoughts on the BB cream as it's something I've never tried before and am already growing to love after one application!

What do you think to these summer beauty products?


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Sunday 18 May 2014

Best Moisturiser Ever?




When it comes to moisturiser, I never really used to stay in a rigid routine with it nor stick to the same one. I've had numerous mattifying moisturisers in the past due to my oily combination skin type but none of them have really made me say 'wow' and don't help when my skin gets dry. Yes, oily skin can also get dry and that has being happening quite a lot recently. However, in November I got given the Origins Make a difference plus rejuvenating treatment as part of a set and have used it ever since! 

It's a lovely moisturiser that makes my skin feel hydrated without feeling greasy. It's something that doesn't make my skin spotty too and I really feel like it's made a difference to my skin. When it says 'rejuvenating treatment' I didn't know whether it meant moisturiser (it's named as a gel) but it acts as one as well as being beneficial for my blemishes, so that is where it lies in my skincare routine. I use this after cleansing with either my Murad Clarifying or Alpha H balancing cleanser. Sometimes I tone with the Body Shop's Hydrating Toner first then gently massage this into the skin and I'm ready for bed. I have the Make a Difference rejuvenating lotion but haven't actually used it yet as I don't know where to incorporate it into my routine and if it's any different to this gel/moisturiser. Does anyone know?


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Wednesday 7 May 2014

My Trip To Amsterdam.

During the Easter break, me and my boyfriend decided to go on a city break and thought Amsterdam would be the perfect place. After jetting off on the shortest flight of my life (50 minutes!), we arrived at Schipol airport and got a shuttle bus to our hotel. The hotel exceeded my expectations and was a lovely modern 4* hotel on the outskirts of the city centre. It was perfectly situated as we only had to take a 5 minute bus ride into the city centre or could take a long walk or cycle. We stayed in the Westcord Art Hotel if you’re interested. On the first night, I was extremely tired from little sleep the night before and my travel sickness tablets made me super drowsy so we didn't do anything too interesting. We just went into a random restaurant and had a lovely pizza. The first thing I did notice about Amsterdam though was the number of bikes; pretty much everyone cycles it's mad!



Day 1
On the first day, we headed into town on the bus, eager to see what the city had to offer. We walked for a while to try and find a cafe called ‘Lombardos’ which was rated #1 out of 2000+ eating places in Amsterdam. I had the club sandwich and it was honestly the best sandwich of my life. 8 euros later and we were on our way along the picturesque Prichengracht canal to try and find the Anne Frank Museum. We had to queue for an hour so if you are thinking of going I recommend booking online first. It was quite eye opening and for the 9 euros we had to pay, I think it was a pretty good deal! We then went on a canal boat trip whereby we did an hour of sightseeing from the canals. There are canals everywhere in Amsterdam as the man made city is basically held up by dams, so we still got to see pretty much everything. We had headphones on and in your specified language, you get told information and the history of where you are.  After this we went back to the hotel to get ready for our meal at a very up market restaurant called ‘Vlamin Eaten & Drinken’. It was expensive but family owned and the food and service was up to scratch. It was an amazing meal and a great night out.




The nicest club sandwich ever


Me outside the Anne Frank house entrance

Some naughty thing they sold in shops! However I did not do any sorts of drugs whilst here.
View from the canal





Day 2
On our second and last full day, we decided to hire bikes which were incredibly fun. We cycled with maps in hand discovering the road systems. I almost got ran over by mo-ped bikes that were allowed in the cycle lanes (what?!) but due to there being cycle lanes and bike traffic lights, everything was very safe.  We cycled into the city centre and ended up at the famous Museumplein where the famous ‘I amsterdam’ sign is as well as plenty of museums (obviously). After taking a few snaps there, we realised Lombardos was literally round the corner so popped in there for yet another delicious sandwich (I got free range chicken this time – not that much different.) After this we visited Vondelpark which is a very big green park with a lake and plenty of places to sit. Both days we were there, the weather was gorgeous so it was lovely just to sit and relax after the hustle and bustle of the city. That evening, we visited to infamous Red Light District which was a bit of a scratty place in my opinion. There were lots of cheap pubs and bars and hotels with the obvious prostitution and tonnes of sex shops and sex shows (eww).  After a quick visit there we found an Italian restaurant to eat in which wasn’t the best to be honest.  After this we returned to the cosy hotel for cocktails before hitting the sack.


Vondelpark
Our bikes just chillin'
The next morning we had to get up and leave for the airport and I was uber sad about this. I would’ve liked to stay another day or so but I will definitely be returning to this beautiful city now that I know the ins and outs. I definitely recommend it as a place you need to go sometime in your life. Thanks for reading!


What other cities in Europe should I visit?


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