Skincare Favourites

This month I’ve been trying really hard to sort out my crazy bad skin.  Two trips to the doctors meant that I was hooked up with some eczema cream that I am hoping are going to kick in properly this week and make a difference.  However this will only really benefit my body, and these last couple of months I’ve noticed that my face has been breaking out and as a result my skin has been pretty awful.  Superdrug and Lush have been my go to places for my skincare as of late, and here is what I’ve been loving recently.

 B. Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz 

Ever since I finished my last facial mists a couple of months ago, for some reason I just never got round to picking up another one.  I had been using the Superdrug Vitamin E Micellar Water day and night for cleansing and to give my skin a little bit more hydration.  When I finished up that, I was on a mission to find something that would be suitable to use throughout the day, and this has been the perfect find for applying before my moisturising, before my makeup powder, for setting my makeup, for refreshing my skin throughout the day and for applying late at night for a little extra hydration.  I’m totally obsessed!  I picked this up when it was on offer for £3.95, and I can honestly say that I think it is the best purchase I’ve made all month!  I’ve already picked up my second bottle as I’m very nearly finished this one – which proves just how much I love it!

Let The Good Times Roll

This has been my go to facial scrub for months now, it’s bitty but not harsh, thick but not sticky and really exfoliating without being brutal.  Packed with cinnamon and popcorn, this face and body cleanser gives my skin the exfoliation it needs daily, but also leaves my skin feeling moisturised after.  I’d say that my skin is rather sensitive and really dehydrated, so this has been a life saver since I decided to give it a go last year!  Thank you Lush!

Naturally Radiant Skin Balm

After using up the last of my day and night creams from Superdrug, I wanted to try something that would be super moisturising on the first application.  I really liked the other two, however on days when I feel super tight on my face I would have to apply a layer, wait for it to absorb and then apply another for the hydration I required.  This balm has worked wonders for my skin day and night, it’s super thick and balmy but sinks into the skin beautifully and doesn’t take long to absorb.  It doesn’t leave a sticky or greasy residue, just moisture with a dreamy scent!  I’ve stocked up on this one already, and I’ve also picked up the facial oil and serum from the range to try out too – stay peeled for an update on those!

Have  you tried out any  of the above?  What's  your skincare routine looking like right now?

Until the next one,

Ways That I Save Money, Part 4

It must be something about the New Year that gets me acting crazy, but throughout the whole month of February, and most of March, I’ve been acting like one of those possessed people of extreme couponing.  I’m obsessed!  I’m signed up to websites, I get daily emails and I’ve even got apps on my phone now to help me keep up to date with offers.  I’m addicted, but hey, there’s worse things in life ain't there? 

Printable Coupons

I’ve been checking out Hollys Extreme Couponing site throughout the last couple of months to get the best coupons online, and in doing so I’ve managed to grab several freebies.  Between the fam, so far we have managed to pick up: 3 cartons of soup, 2 bottles of lemonade, 3 four packs of Yazoo, a carton of Optiwell yoghurt drink and 3 bottles of Upbeat protein shakes.  Some of the vouchers stated one free item, others had a specific money value – all of which worked out perfectly for some super freebies when items were on offer.  Sad I know, but I get such a thrill out of picking up bits that I know the family will use for free.  I’d definitely recommend checking out Holly’s site for some fab freebies!

Shopmium

My absolute obsession right now is getting cash back on the items that I pick up in the supermarket, especially as these apps tend to have offers on the items to make them completely free.  The two I use at the moment are Shopmium and Checkout Smart, which between the two of them the apps have given me pretty decent savings over the last two months.  Shopmium is great for offering free items throughout the month – so far I’ve picked up: a loaf of bread, 3 multipacks of Go Ahead breakfast bars, a bottle of Volvic water and a bar of Graham and Brown chocolate, all completely free!  They also offer savings on other great items too, such as 50% off, try for £1 deals and multi savings when you buy two or three of the same item.  Since mid-January I’ve had £15.73 paid back into my account, which is really good considering the majority of my claims have been on completely free items.   You can use my friend code AEYYCHMF to get involved in all of the money saving madness.  You’ll even get a free bar of Lindt chocolate as a welcome gift!

Checkout Smart

This app has brought me the most joy throughout the month, because they always update it with fab offers, on products that I either normally buy, or will buy it for the kids because I know they will like it!  Using this app I’ve picked up free bread, yoghurts, beverages and fruit and nut mixes.  Not only that, but I also got really good cash back deals on other items too: 6 1l bottle of Mountain Dew for £1.50, 5 500ml bottles of Vitamin Water for £1, and other drinks for just 25p!  It’s by far my favourite app right now, and I’ve not long cashed out on my rewards – a total of £27.50 at the end of last month, and I’ve already got another £9 pending as we speak, it’s so easy!  The deals change every other day, and there is always something to take advantage of.  Take a look and see if there is anything on there that you fancy, deals are often tailored to what you but after a couple of uses – making it personal to you and helps you save the most money!

What are your favourite tips for saving some cash when you’re shopping?

Until the next one,

Lush Face Masks, A Round Up

There are still a couple that I've to get my hands on, but I've tried out the majorty of Lush's facemasks, and I am here to share my verdict to help you decide what you need for your skin!

Don’t Look at Me

It smells absolutely delicious, the scent reminds me very much of the ocean salt face a body scrub, which I have used in the past and adored.  So it was with great delight to find a facemask that would somewhat replicate the good of the scrub, as Don’t Look at Me is also very exfoliating.  Upon applying, as you spread the mask over your face you really feel the ground rice rubbing into your pores and working its magic!  You can also feel the lemon juice seeping into the pores and creating a tingly sensation.  Afterwards my skin feels cleaner, smoother and looks a lot brighter too! 

Mask of Magminty

Let me start by telling you this, never have I ever felt my skin so squeaky clean after just one use of a facemask.  This product is a Lush self-preserving face and body mask, designed to gently clean and exfoliate whilst worn.  Made with peppermint oil and primrose seeds – the ingredients work amazingly together, making your pores feel super tingly and leaves the feeling of an extra deep cleanse.  To use, I like to smooth a generous layer of the mask over my face, paying special attention to my nose, cheeks and chin – as these are the areas that tend to breakout most often.  I tend to leave it on between ten to fifteen minutes at a time, as I find that this is the perfect amount of time for it to dry without giving it the opportunity to flake off.

Cup’O’Coffee

Cup O’ Coffee is the mask that you need in your life if you like to exfoliate like me! I feel a need to give my face a good scrubbing when I wash it, and so anytime that I do use a facemask – I tend to give my face a scrub with an alternative product after… just for good measure.  The ground up coffee beans used in this mask are just perfect for this, as the particles are so, so fine that you can safely scrub away at your skin without having to worry about actually causing it any harm.   When you scoop the mask out to apply to your face, it’s a really sticky constituency – but yet is super easy to smooth across your face.  What I really like about applying it is that you can give your skin as scrub as you apply it.  I like to use a semi generous amount over my face and leave it on anywhere between 10-25 minutes at a time.  This mask doesn’t dry or harden as you wear it, which is great because it makes it so much easier to wash off.  When I’ve given my skin its coffee fix, I use some warm water to rinse it off, scrubbing as I go to give my skin a really good exfoliation.  After use, my skin looks as though it’s just been given a new lease of life!   Sometimes I swear its glowing.  It also makes my skin  feel really smooth and clean – especially around my nose where I tend to get the blackhead breakouts. 

Catastrophe Cosmetic

Catastrophe Cosmetic is packed with lovely ingredients including blueberries, rose, calamine and chamomile which when are mixed together in this concoction make a gorgeous smell, which I think is exactly like Parma Violet sweeties!  For best results, I recommend using this mask on freshly washed skin – I know that some people like to apply a light moisturiser beforehand, but I personally feel that this would prevent some of the benefits on the mask.  One of the things that I love most about this product is that it is perfect for problematic skin like mine.  I enjoy it because my eczema causes my face to dry out abnormally quickly – and I always need to apply a moisturiser straight after I wash my face.  All of the ingredients help to soothe my skin, especially the areas around my mouth and eyes, as these tend to be the places that suffer the most during a breakout.  The one main problem that I do have with this mask is that it tends to flake off as it is drying – sometimes even before it has dried in completely.  I like to wear any facemask for around 15-20 minutes at a time, however I have come to find that this mask tends to only be suitable for around a 10 minute session before it starts to flake away.

Cupcake

Two of my favourite things in this world are mint and chocolate, so after reading all about the different fresh face masks that Lush have to offer Cupcake stood out to me for this exact reason.  Packed with cocoa butter, mint and cocoa powder this thick and creamy mask promises to draw out dirt and impurities, as well as giving your face a deep cleansing experience.  This is a really thick and creamy mask – so as you apply it takes a lot of rubbing in to get the maximum coverage from the amount you are putting on.  This of course is not a bad thing, as it allows you to rub in the minty goodness, and gives your skin a real tingly and cleansing experience at the same time!  I like to use Cupcake all over my face and give my skin a generous coating with each application – however I think it would work perfectly well for a treatment a across the tea zone or other problem areas too if preferred. What I love the most about Cupcake is that it really does give my skin a proper good cleansing – I always feel that my pores have had a good clean with every use, and it doesn’t take any time at all to get the results. 

What's your favourite from the bunch?  Any you'd recommend I'd try?

Until the next one,

February Favourites

Another month, another favourites post!  Now I don't know about you, but I'm still not sure how I'm feeling about 2017, and I can safely say that this is the first ever year where I've felt like this!  February was busy, but not the kind of busy where I got things done.  I've high hopes for March though, I want to power through my dissertation and I've got a few little projects that I'm keen to get stuck into!  Without further ado, here are the things that got me through February.

Botanics Skincare 

I've been in dire need of changing up my skin care for a while now, which I started to do in January when I swapped about moisturisers. This month I swapped out my cleansers, and also treated myself to an eye cream and cleansing toner from the Boots Botanics range.  The bags under my eyes are real, and for weeks I felts as though my eyes were getting puffier and the day went on!  The All Bright Eye Roll On feels so nice around the eye, it gives a really nice cooling effect and I think it reduces the redness on my eye lids too.  Whilst it's still pretty early days for me to say that it's made a dramatic difference to my bags, I will say that I've seen some what of an improvement, which I am pleased about!  The All Bright Cleansing Toner has in fact changed my skin dramatically though, I'm really obsessed with the stuff!  I'd seen a few reviews where people had said it was a great dupe for the Pixie Glow Tonic, but seeing as I've never used that before I wasn't really sure what to expect, other than it was to match a high end product.  I've been using this at night after removing all my makeup, and it really has just made such a great difference to my skins complexion!  Bizarrely it gives a really good exfoliating sensation, removes any dry flaky skin from the surface and just leaves my skin feeling smooth to the touch and most importantly, clean!  Both products are half price in boots right now, meaning that each item is less than £2!  If you're on the hunt for a new skin care routine, I'd highly recommend giving Botanics a look in.

Collection Concealer 

Back into the subject of my eye bags, I just can't comprehend how I managed to go so long without buying myself a good concealer.  I imagine I've had dark circles for a while now, but this month they just became so noticeable to me that I decided I had to hide them to the best of my abilities!  I've seen everyone raving about this stuff, and so I don't think I need to go into too much detail here.  It works, its cruelty free and best of all it's really reasonably priced at under £5!  I'll be needed to stock up on some more this month as I have been going to town on mine,  but if you're the kinda gal who only needs a few dabs here and there to cover imperfections, I imagine that this will Last you a very long time!

Kings of Leon

For mums Christmas I bought her KOL tickets and with the help of my dad, treated her to a trip away to Glasgow for the event!  This was the second time I'd seen them, both times having gone with mum, and so it was pretty special as they're mums all-time favourite band!  We were so close to the stage, and they put on such a good show that it made waiting the 4 months to see them all the more special.  When we were away we also got to try out some tasty vegan sandwiches and the lovely vegan pizzas at Zizzi, because what is a trip away without some food indulgences?!  Kings of Leo definitely brightened up the rather gloomy February that I had for sure!

There we have it, these are the goodies that have seen me through another month. What have been your go to favourites as of late? 

Until the next one,