Updated Skincare Routine ft. Clinique and GlamGlow

First off I'd like to start by saying I have oily/combination skin in the terms that when I'm applying products to my skin it can show up dry patches really easily, but give it an hour or two and you could see your reflection in my face its that oily! However, the products I'm about to talk about have definitely made a difference. I use these steps and products morning and night. The photo's I am using are directly from the brands page as I currently do not have anywhere to take any good quality photo's (I wont settle for less!).

Step 1.
The first step in my routine is to cleanse. If I get in from college and just reaaaally want to take my makeup off so I can relax (we all know that feeling right?) I will take the majority of it off with the Simple makeup Cleansing Wipes. I know its not advised to use make-up wipes to remove your makeup but, I cleanse again properly before I go to sleep so I figured it wasn't that bad. I haven't suffered any more breakouts than normal and find that they cleanse my skin really well because of how moist they are, especially the devilish Benefit They're Real mascara which we all know is a pain to get off and Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation which is very long wearing.


Step 1*
Either before I go to bed or after I get in from work (I always finish late at night) I will wash my face with Clinique's Liquid Facial Soap for oily/combination skin. This literally removes everything with only one pump, I mean foundation, mascara, eyeliner, concealer, practically everything you put on your face. If I've been out for a special occasion and wore more makeup I will use this twice, yet that's only really to remove the extra eye makeup. This cleanser leaves my face feeling oil free and so clean, maybe a little tight sometimes but I definitely prefer that over a slick oily face any day, and its nothing the later step of moisturiser doesn't fix.




Step 2.
Every other night I will use Clinique's 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-off Formula. This is a very grainy scrub which is what I love about it because it really feels like its polishing your skin. The Clinique lady advised me to remove any makeup first, use the scrub and then cleanse again. It leaves my skin feeling so soft, gets rid of them annoying little bumps everywhere and makes my moisturiser just sink right in more effectively. You just apply this cream to wet face, massage it in gently until the cream turns a bit more clear.

Step 3*
About once or twice a week I use a face mask. My mask of choice is GlamGlow Supermud which brightens and clears your complexion by de-clogging and minimising pores whilst fighting break outs, it also speeds up the healing process. I apply this to a dry face after cleansing and scrubbing, and leave it on for 20 minutes before rinsing it off with warm water. With this mask you can literally see it pulling all the gunk (nice word) out of your pores which is a good thing I think because you can literally see it working.

Step 3.
Next I use an exfoliating lotion also by Clinique. It is the Anti-Blemish Solutions Clarifying Lotion this removes dead skin cells and reduces excess oil (which can lead to blackouts), soothes redness and irritation. I feel like it really removes any last traces of makeup (usually round my hairline/ears etc) and soothes my skin, prepping the skin for the moisturiser. You just give the bottle a shake to mix the liquid with the powder (which reduces shine) apply it to a cotton ball and sweep it all over your face.






Step 4.
For moisturiser I use Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel. This is an oil free moisturiser for oily to very oily skin which gives lightweight hydration, makes my skin feel smooth and more comfortable. I feel like it gives just enough hydration to moisturise my dry patches without making me oily.







Step 5.
As a spot treatment I use Clinique's Anti-Blemish Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel. This gel helps clear up existing blemishes and prevents new blemishes from making an appearance. I apply a thin layer of this all over my face after moisturising and it feels very cooling and leaves a matte yet smooth texture.




So there we have it my skin-care routine. If you have any questions just drop me a comment or email and I'll get back to you the best I can :)

My New Skincare Routine.

I am back once again! Hopefully on a more permanent blogging basis! Anyway, I'm blogging today to show you my new skincare routine, when I say new I mean literally brand new, I've only had these products for about a week or so, so these are my first impressions :). For those who don't know I have very oily skin and have constant breakouts to the point where if a product was to break me out, unless it was pretty severe I probably wouldn't notice :( so, I should definitely know if these products do my skin any good.

The first step in my new routine is obviously cleansing! I've been using Clinique's Liquid Facial Soap for oily skin. I have used Clinique's anti-blemish solutions cleansing foam in the past, but I found that it didn't take my make-up off effectively and it dried my skin out quite a bit, so the woman from Clinique recommended this facial soap. So far, it has been amazing! It takes off my make-up brilliantly with just one pump (repeated after rinsing if I've worn a lot of makeup that day) and leaves my skin feeling so soft even though its oil free. I would definitely recommend this cleanser for anyone with really oily skin that doesn't want to strip their skin bare! I bought this from a Clinique counter in Westgate for £15.50.

The next step is a spot fighting exfoliating clarifying lotion. I've been using Clinique's anti-blemish solutions Clarifying Lotion which is amazing! I removes any dead skin or traces of make-up left after cleansing. It has a little bit of powder which sits at the bottom of the bottle and when you give the bottle a good shake before using, the powder gets mixed with the rest of the liquid and acts as the exfoliator. You use this by just dabbing it onto some cotton wool and sweeping it all over your face. Since using this I've not had any dry patches whatsoever (which I usually get on my cheeks). As for its spot fighting abilities I believe it shrinks spot size and reduces redness so on that front its pretty good! I would definitely recommend this is to anyone with spot prone skin who wants to use oil free products but has them annoying dry patches! I bought this from the same Clinique counter from abover for £17.00

My next step is a spot treating serum. I've been using La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo which states 'Corrective and Unclogging Anti-Imperfection Care helps reduce the appearance of imperfections and purifies pores.' And so far its doing the trick! It has a gel like consistency and massage it all over your face and this paired with the clarifying lotion are so far a dream team. I bought it for £13.00 from Boots.

The final step is moisturising! Just because you have oily skin doesn't mean your skin is hydrated enough, so you still need a moisturiser, just use an oil free one! I did used to use Clinique's anti-blemish solutions moisturiser but I just found it wasn't moisturising enough (strange I know). This moisturiser is also in a gel formula, is oil free and is just amazing, it moisturises my skin without leaving it greasy or overly shiny. It just does what a moisturiser should and more for my oily skin! I bought this from the same Clinique counter for £29.50 (eek I know, expensive, totally worth it though!)

I hope you enjoyed this post, leave a comment on what your currently using in your skincare routine, if you have any questions about these products or if you have any of these products and how its working for you? Thanks for reading!

Shanice xxxx

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My First Glossy Box!

I'd just like to begin by saying the reason why I haven't blogged in a while is because I've been really struggling with my anxiety recently to the point where I haven't been able to eat much more than a couple of biscuits a day for about a week, only left my room to go to the doctors, etc, so I haven't felt like doing anything. To make matters worse when my mum dragged me out into town on Wednesday to spend some of my wages, I got my purse robbed with about £100 so that really didn't convince me that going outside my front door is safe! But, after going out with my mum this morning and receiving my Glossy Box and Amazon purchases today, I've realised that I cant let myself get in the way of having a good life. So with that explanation out the way lets move on with my review of what I got in my very first Glossy Box!

For those of you that don't know all about Beauty Box's, they are a way of trying out higher end products without paying full whack and deciding you don't like it in the end. I decided to go with Glossy Box because of the way they tailor the products you receive to suit you. When you pay for your subscription you also complete a kind of beauty survey which asks questions such as what type of skin do you have? What are your main concerns? How old are you? etc. I thought this was brilliant as it meant your less likely to receive products which you wont even bother trying because they're just not for you. This box is £10 + p&p but you receive more than the £10 you pay in products so it's definitely worth it.

This Glossy Box was designed by a designer called Pearl Lowe, to be honest I've never heard of her so I cant comment on anything else she has done, but the design on the box is beautiful and fits the spring theme perfectly. 

This is how this months box looks when you open the lid. I think it makes the box look really classy and sophisticated especially the little ribbon bow!

This is what I received inside my box! 
- Yves Rocher - So Elixer Purple Eau de Parfum
- Lipcote
- Essie nail polish in 'Where's my chauffeur?'
- Dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant
- Nip + Fab - Coconut Latte Body Butter

Yves Rocher - So Elixer Purple Eau de Parfum
This is not a bad smelling perfume, but I just don't like it. I have no clue as how to describe perfumes with all the tones and other weird things people use to describe them, but I prefer fruity or girly smells, which this just is not. I would of gave it to my mum but she didn't like it either, so maybe my grandma? (haha)

Lipcote
I already have one of these, but why not have another? I personally think they're great, however if I have really dry lips (which is most of the time) this can make my lipstick look horrendous buy the end of the day. But if I'm having a good lips day then this is perfect and really keeps your lipstick on until you wash it off at the end of the day. 

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
When I got this out of the box I thought "this feels like theres hardly anything in it" till I opened the lid and saw that it was a powder, then I really thought "what the hell". So when I read the instructions and saw that you add it to water then it turns into a paste which you then work into a wet face for 1 minute, I couldn't wait to try it and ran a bath straight after I'd done my nails. I must say it made my face feel squeaky clean and theres no dry patches whatsoever. I hope I don't get too attached to this because I don't think my boyfriend or my bank balance would be very happy as its about £40 for the full size on its own. 

Nip + Fab Coconut Latte body butter
I don't usually use body butter, I've still got one which my boyfriend bought me for my birthday which I haven't used yet, tbh, I think I'm just too lazy to sit there and rub it all in. However, with my new found motivation I decided to give it a go, and I really like it, it smells lovely and has left my skin feeling so smooth. But I don't really have anything to compare it to, but it seemed really good. 

Essie nail polish
This is the first time I've tried an essie nail polish because I didn't want to betray my beloved OPI polishes, but I'm glad I got this one. Its the most perfect vibrant spring colour, and I love the brush which makes applying it so easy. The polish was almost opaque enough for 1 coat but only just needed 2. The finish is lovely, shiny and smooth so 10/10 for this! Here's a little picture of what it looks like on my nails.

What I Bought Today

Hello! Hope you all had eventful weekends, I certainly didn't. First just a little message to explain some issues in my blogpost today - Some of these pictures and throughout this blog post will look different because halfway through taking pictures my camera died, so I had to use my boyfriends Iphone, bearing in mind this was about 8 at night the lighting wasn't very good as it is.

Now, lets move on and as I said in my previous post I got paid on Thursday, so on the Friday me and my boyfriend went into town to get him a new phone, and while all that was being sorted I sneakily got away and went into Boots and Superdrug, where I bought these...

Rimmel Apocalips 
So, the first things I'm going to talk about are the Rimmel Apocalips, which I'm sure every blogger and their dog knows about. The colours I got are Apocoliptic, Nova and Luna (They were 3 for 2 at Boots and Superdrug)

 

(L-R Luna, Nova, Apocoliptic) (Opposite on other picture)

These feel on the lips like a creamy lip gloss, and once that wears off your left with a lovely tinted lip! I've been wearing Nova for work and haven't had the chance to properly wear the other shades for other than the lip swatches I've done (see below). I'm not too sure how much I'll wear Luna because it is a very nude, nude? If that makes sense! But I think if I do a very heavy eye look I might be able to pull it off, but we'll see! 

Luna

Apocoliptic

Nova

These pictures don't show how shiny the lip glosses actually are because they are lovely. Also, Luna is a lot more nude in real life, its just that I stupidly swatched that one last so my lips were pretty red raw from wiping the other lip glosses off and the stain they left behind. The colours are very opaque with every colour I've picked, even with Luna it was only the outline of my lips which showed the tint through from the other lip glosses. 

Apocalips

Nova

Luna

Bourjois Rouge Edition

I also bought these two lipsticks after seeing them on 'Birds Words' [Link] . So, I bought Rose tweed and Fuchsia Graffiti. These lipsticks feel so creamy and I have fallen in love with Rose Tweed, I think its just the perfect everyday lipstick. Fuchsia Graffiti is not as opaque as I thought it would be, but it still has really good pigmentation. 

With Flash

Without Flash

Fuchsia Graffiti

I don't have any pictures of the Rose Tweed because it the pictures just weren't showing how beautiful the lipstick is, so I chose not to include one.

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

In Superdrug all Bourjois products were 3 for 2 and as I didn't see any shades that really caught my eye other then the two lipsticks I did buy, I bought this which was on my pay day wish list anyway. I used is as soon as I got home to remove the heavily chipped nail polish I had on and oh my god! I wouldn't say it takes 1 second, but its is seconds - like 5 max and all my varnish was gone and my fingers smelling gorgeous! Now I literally cant wait to take my nail polish off just to use this.

All I did is stick my finger into the little hole in the sponge, twist my finger left and right a couple of times and that was it, all varnish gone! If there were little scraps left right at the sides of my nails all I did was repeat the process, maybe with more twisting to get the sponge right into that gap and the polish was gone! 

Rimmel Stay Matte

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've needed some powder for months, so I decided to go back to my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte, it keeps my skin matte for hours and at the worst dewy. Love it! I got the colour Translucent.

(Colour looks different from the first picture because flash was used in this shot)

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment

I'm not planning on using this until I've had my hair cut, and I know a lot of you will be thinking 'Why you getting your hair cut just to try and grow it again?' Well its because I know when I go to the hairdressers I'm going to need quite a bit cut off because of my pretty bad dead ends, and I want to grow it back as quickly as possible but hopefully in better condition. If any of you have any Heat protection sprays you would recommend - leave a comment! :)

Technical difficulties - If anyone could tell me why when I uploaded the lip swatches they turned on their side when the originals are facing the right way? or even better if there is a way to turn them back the right way round :) Thank you.

Pay Day Wish List

For those of you that don't know, I work at The Co-operative Food, and for us lot pay day is on Thursday! Now, I'm one of those people that doesn't have a penny to my name about 2 weeks after getting paid, so pay day is a big deal for me! After starting my job properly in November of last year I haven't had a lot of money to myself because there was Christmas and then my boyfriends 18th Birthday, and any spare money I've had has stupidly gone on food :( this is one of the reasons why this pay day wish list is so big (that and the million extra hours I've been doing). So, I'm going to stop babbling on and get on with it!

 1. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - Starter Kit - £14.75
I've seen this for a good while here and there on shopping channels and a couple of blogs, and never really took much notice because I just thought it was for old people! (sorry) but after paying more attention and looking around for things to try for my skin after Clinique's Anti-Blemish Solutions 3-Step System didn't work for me - review here [Link] . So, after looking through a few blogs and youtube video's and seeing how well this has worked for some people's skin, I thought I'd give it a go. So, look out for a short review as soon as its delivered and then a more thorough one when I've given it a good test run. (fingers crossed it works)

2. Liz Earle Instant Boost™ Skin Tonic - £13.25
The Liz Earle website recommended this for me to use in conjunction with the Hot Cloth Cleanser, and to be honest I need a new toner because the one I'm using at the moment from Dermalogica (Clean Start) it feels like I'm just spraying scented water over my face. If you have any other toners you would recommend for my acne prone skin leave me a comment and it may be in my next pay day wish list! I haven't read any reviews for this, and I suppose I should so after I've done that, I may or may not get this when I get paid.

3. MAC Studio Fix Fluid - £20.50
This is a re-purchase after I got my first bottle for Christmas, but I thought it deserved a mention. I used to use Revlon's ColourStay foundation and loved it, and heard that MAC's was very similar, so with a bit of Christmas money I took the plunge, and I'm glad I did because I do believe it is better than Revlon's although both have their cons. I think that Revlon's ColourStay has better coverage, but doesn't last as long and turns a more 'orangey' and patch colour later in the day. On MAC's website it claims that the foundation is medium coverage but buildable. For me the coverage is medium, but I would not say its buildable, but then again that's what concealer is for! The most impressive thing about MAC's Studio Fix Fluid is that is does last me all day! I can't believe the staying power considering I dont use a primer, it just looks great all day so now I can honestly say I trust it that much I only look in the mirror at the most 3 times in a day! Definitely worth the money - one of my Holy Grail Items (HGI).

4. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - £3.99
I have bought this many times, and I think I underestimate it, especially considering the massive disappointment I had from MAC's Prep and Prime Finishing Powder - NEVER AGAIN - but that's for another day. I haven't worn powder in a couple of months, not that I haven't needed it, but when I have money I just forget about it, and as I mentioned above after 2 weeks there's no chance in me affording the little amount that it is, but I am determined to remember it this month, especially as there should be warmer weather which means my face = its own mirror. Disgusting!

5. Benefit Porefessional - £23.50
As the website suggests, this is supposed to be the UK's No.1 Primer. I have seen absolutely RAVE reviews about it, and even though I find the price tag very expensive, I'm going to treat myself and take the plunge. I have never had a primer before so I dont really have anything to compare it to and I didn't think I really suffered with visible pores (then again I don't really like looking at my bare skin) but clearly I do because of the state of my skin, and this will hopefully help with that issue too and will serve me well. If you have tried this leave a comment telling me how you found it and if it lives up to it's name???

6. Benefit They're Real - £18.50
Again this is a repurchase after getting it for Christmas after seeing all the hype about it on the TV and in stores, etc. It was the first time I had heard of the brand Benefit (I was a very ignorant 16 -17 year old on the whole make-up brand front) but I was scared about parting with nearly £20 for a mascara when usually I try not to spend over £10, and it was a last minute 'oh what the hell' purchase. I am so glad I did! This is the best mascara I have ever used, it literally does everything it claims to do. I dont use eyelash curlers but I couldn't even begin to imagine how my eyelashes would look using both together. This mascara is totally worth the hype and I believe I will be repurchasing this for many months to come.

7. Benefit High Beam - £24.50
I am one of those people who used to think when it came to highlighters 'whats the point?' but after watching Hollies Pampur Lounge on youtube [Link] I realised how much of a difference a good highlighter can make to your face and whole make-up look. I know this highlight has also had a lot of rave reviews and even though I think its very expensive for a little bottle, hopefully it will be worth it, and again I'm treating myself!

8. HD Brows - £25 (prices differ)
I have wanted these ever since I first saw them (about 2 years ago?), and when I could afford them I just forgot! For those that haven't heard of them, they are a 7-step eyebrow shaping process which give you the best eyebrows you can possibly get! There is a video on youtube which goes through the whole process and shows you some before and after shots - [Link] I will be doing a before and after and review when I get mine done, so keep an eye out!

9. Benefit Hoola  - £23.50
I have been after a decent bronzer for  months, after always using bronzing pearls which I found just weren't pixilated enough for the look I wanted to create. But after seeing this again on Hollie's Pampur Lounge on youtube and how she loves it, I thought I would again treat myself and add it to my wish list.

10. Moroccanoil - £30.45
If you haven't heard about this I would be very surprise, however not everyone it into hair oils so, some may have not. Its basically meant to be the very best hair oil available that all celebrities use and its supposed to leave your hair absolutely beautiful! I do think it is expensive, but for healthy beautiful looking hair after having my hair dip-dyed, I think it's worth it and that is why it is on my wish list.

11. Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipsticks - £5.99 (at the moment in Boots)
The only way I heard of these is by seeing a review of them by 'Birds Words' [Link] my favourites were Rose Tweed and Fuchsia Graffiti and I will be getting them!

12. Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment - £7.99
Ive seen so many reviews about this, some hating on it and some loving on it, but I think if it does work £7.99 is not much to pay for longer beautiful hair. I don't really need this at the moment, but when I get paid I am planning on getting my hair re-dip-dyed and cut, but because it has literally been over half a year since I last got my hair cut, I know I'm going to need quite a bit off so, if this helps me get my hair back longer quicker, its worth it for me!

13. Rimmel Apocalips - £5.99 (or 3 for 2 in Boots at the moment)
Do I really need to explain why I want these? They have been literally everywhere recently and they are so beautiful! For those of you who don't know, they are a lip gloss come lipstick come lip stain. I usually hate lip glosses, but I recently realised that it was probably because all the ones I had when I was younger were cheap and sticky! I don't even know what colours to choose, so I will have to wait and see when I get into the store but I am so exited to try these, probably more than anything else on this list.

14. Glossy Box - £10 (per month)
I think these boxes are a great way to try new things without paying a massive amount for you to find them to be crap. If you haven't heard of these types of boxes, in this box you get 5-6 some sample and some full size products for you to try. It allows you to decide if you like them and if you think they're worth it - buy the full size! I think they will be especially useful for when I haven't bought any new products or dont have any inspiration to just do a Glossy Box review blog.

15. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Luscious Long - £4.99
I've heard a lot about these 3 Minute Miracle hair treatments and was going to just get the original one, until I saw this one for people with long hair who may need that extra bit of moisture. I also think the price is really good for the amount of amazing reviews it has, so why not.

16. HD Brows Palette - £19.96
I don't think I need to explain why I want this, but I will. I just thought it would be a great way to compliment my HD brows and purchase a brow palette from the same brand so they can advise me best on how to use it.

17. Bourjois Magic 1 Second Nail Polish Remover - £4.99
I've been wanting this ever since my boyfriend started buying me various OPI nail polishes and I just think its a great, easy, quick and simple way to remove nail polish without all the mess of cotton pads and a bottle of polish remover.

18. MAC lipstick in Chatterbox - £14
I can't remember who's blog I saw this lipstick on but I instantly wanted it, I love the colour and just think that it would be a great everyday lipstick.

Thank-you for reading my post. If you have any tips on how I could improve my blogging, or anything you want me to do a review about, just leave a comment and I will get back to you asap.

Ciate Caviar Manicure - Mother of Pearl

I got this and the 'Black Pearls' for Christmas off my boyfriend. Am sure 99% of you looking at this post will have already heard of/seen the craze brought forward by Ciate and their 'Caviar Manicure'. I also know that these were discovered before and there are less expensive versions available by high street brands such as MUA's Nail Constellations [Link].

I did originally want the 'Mother of Pearl' Colour but also really liked the 'Black Pearls' shade, so my boyfriend got me both :) (lucky girl) but now after trying them both out (look out for the 'Black Pearls' review in the future) I think I do prefer the 'Black Pearls' shade over 'Mother of Pearls' although they are both really pretty. You can buy Ciate's Caviar Manicures directly from their online website [Link] or from Selfridges [Link] who strangely have more shades available! They are £18 each which is a bit expensive especially as MUA do a version for £2-3 (just the beads) however they will last you ages! Especially the actual beads because you use that little for each manicure and have a funnel which allows you to easily pour the excess beads back into the bottle.

 

I'm not the best at applying nail polish as it is (and as you can see by the photo's), so it is a bit messy on my nails but with practice I hope I should get better, however applying the beads is the easiest thing in the world, I've attached a photo of the instructions given with the box and it really is as simple as it makes out! You apply one coat of the Paint Pot on all nails, let it dry and then individually for each nail apply another coat of the Paint Pot and while the nail is still wet, pour the beads over your nail making sure your nail is over the plastic 'bead catcher' provided (so you can pour the beads back into the bottle once your finished). And that's it! If you want you can also apply a thin layer of top coat to the end of your nails.

*Instructions taken from the Ciate website

These nails depending on what your doing will not last long, a couple of days max. They are meant for a special event or if your a bit different and like to change your nails regularly.