MUA Powder Blusher | Review | Bubblegum

 I realise I’m a little late to the party after reading a few blog posts,  but can we just take a moment to appreciate this blusher please? 

I picked this up just out of curiosity really, because it was a pretty colour and only £1...Yep, just a single English pound. I’m so impressed with the pigmentation of this, I was expecting it to be a little washed out and chalky, but it has a crazy strong colour payoff. It blends easily over foundation or bare skin, and holds up much better than any other high street blush I’ve tried. This is the colour Bubblegum which is actually a pinkish coral shade, and most importantly matte. I love this little, non shiny, rectangle of joy, I have an uneven skin texture and blemishes so anything with shimmer just draws unwanted attention to that problem. 

I don’t mind the packaging either, in fact I like how slim and little it is, and you can clearly see what colour it is without having to open it or read the back. One con is that it does look a little flimsy, so I don’t know how well it would last if you dropped it...I may have just jinxed myself! Haha. Even if I did though, I can hardly cry over £1! I can see many more of the MUA powder blushers in my future.

Have you tried these? Let me know what you think :]

Gem

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L'Oreal Skin Perfection Miracle Cleansing Oil | Review

When it comes to taking my makeup off, I am defiantly all about efficiency. If I can get my waterproof mascara, lip stick and foundation off all with one product, then that is a truly magical and wonderful thing! So I introduce to you, L'Oreal Skin Perfection Miracle Cleansing Oil. 

 *Ta Da*

Now I know, it says oil which is a little scary and makes me personally envision a shiny, slippery face. However, the nice thing about this product is that it emulsifies in to a lovely, milky lotion when it comes into contact with water, which is easily removed with more water or a cloth/flannel. It’s really easy to use and gets the job done without any hassle, making it way better than a cloth cleanser for me. It can struggle a little with heavy eye make-up, I’m talking lashes, smokey eye the whole shebag! In this scenario you may need to double cleanse one the eyes, but it will take it off without pain.

This is my first experience with cleansing oil, and I have to say I’m hooked. It is just so easy to melt my face off (not literally, just the make-up!) and wipe away. I’m mostly impressed by its ability to breakdown waterproof mascara without making my eyes sting. I have had one hell of a journey trying to find an eye make-up remover, on a budget, that doesn’t make my eyeballs fall out of my head. (I guess I’m feeling a touch dramatic today.Ha!) Still, for a product around the £5 mark this is a pretty amazing make-up remover, so where’s the catch? Well, it’s actually a personal opinion if it is a downfall or not, as it has mineral oil in it. If you’ve been looking into skincare and read a few blogs, then I’m sure you have stumbled across ‘mineral oil = bad’. My understanding is that it comes from petroleum, which is a natural thing from the earth. It’s purified before being used in cosmetics/pharmaceuticals, which makes it the safe form and not the raw type, which would be an issue. In fact because of the nature of it, the refined mineral oil doesn’t actually penetrate the skin. It sits on top so it can’t actually block any pores, which would obviously be a bad thing as it could lead to breakouts etc. The flip side of this is of course could be seen as it cannot deep cleanse, it just removes the surface dirt and grime. 

So it all depends where you fall in relation to mineral oil being in your products. Personally, I don’t have a problem with it if it is safe and not hurting anything. So of an evening I use this to take off my make-up, then second cleanse with Purity Conditioning Cleansing Lotion and that’s it. Super easy. 

Have you tried this cleansing oil? Let me know if there’s another cleansing oil I should try next!

I filmed a little evening skin care routine featuring this product too if you want to take a look :]

Gem

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Greatness in a Can | Dove Style+Care Dry Shampoo Review

Washing my hair is my least favourite thing to do, I'd rather clean and tidy than have to go through the long process of taming my mane. 

Ain't nobody got time fo dat. 

My hair is fairly long now, and I seem to have quite a bit of it too so washing, brushing, drying and styling...it just makes my arms hurt. If I can get away with not washing it, whilst still being socially acceptable, then I will. For these reasons, I consider myself a dry shampoo addict.

I’ve tried numerous ones now from Bedhead to own brand drugstore, even the standard talc trick, but I mostly like good old fashioned Batiste Clean & Classic. That was until I got my mitts on Dove Style+Care Dry Shampoo.

Oh my, this stuff is incredible!

 Initially I was put off by the price, I picked mine up from Boots and it was £4.59, which compared to Batiste at only £2.99 for the same amount of product seemed a little too pricey. The good news is that it is worth every penny. The most amazing thing about the Dove Style+Care Dry Shampoo is that it is clear, I kid you not! There’s nothing worse than accidentally spraying too much dry shampoo and giving yourself a lovely, early aging effect as your roots are way lighter than the rest of your hair...we’ve all been there! (It’s even worse on darker hair. Skunk.) This is not a problem with the Dove product as it is pretty much invisible. As if that wasn’t enough to get you up and running to get some yourself, in my experience it also adds a crazy amount of volume at the roots for a dry shampoo, and if you use it on the mid lengths of your hair it acts as a lovely texturising product.

This dry shampoo is awesome. 

It absorbs and reduces oiliness, adds texture and volume, lasts all day long, oh and it smells pretty darn lovely too. Also I find I don’t need to use a lot to put life back into my second/third day hair, so even thought it costs more than your average drugstore/high street dry shampoo, I think it lasts a smidgen longer.

This is one of my new favourite, fail safe products and I can't find any fault except maybe the price, but I'm willing to pay the extra £1.60 for greatness in a can.

Go try it and let me know what you think!

Gem :]

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Glam Glow | YOUTH-MUD Tinglexfoliate Treatment | Mask Review

  I don’t know about you, but I have heard amazing stuff about the Glamglow face masks. The word ‘Miracle’ has been thrown around a fair bit, along with ‘Amazing’, so it’s bound to get a girl interested! I love that you can order samples off the website with free delivery, as the larger product is around the £40 mark. I ordered the 'GLAMGLOW SUPER GLAMTASTIC Try Before You Buy' which is only £8. You get 2 Youth-Mud and 2 Super-Mud so that's just £2 per facemask! Bargain :] This is a great way to try something pricey out without the risk of wasting your hard earned pennies. 

 

After taking off my makeup and cleansing I tried the Youth-Mud mask for the very first time. It smelt clean but floral, and also like the seaside or beach, which is actually a lovely, soothing combination of scents. The texture of it was like any other mud or clay mask, except this felt a little sandy, and had chunks of tea leaves in it which was pretty cool. As soon as I put it on my face it started to tingle, but it was by no means uncomfortable or to the point of eye watering. (Which is what happened when I used the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque!) As it started to dry back, I could see it pulling out all the junk clogging my pores, especially around my nose where the mask got darker. It did feel tight on the face, but again it wasn’t uncomfortable. When I came to wash it off it turned into an intense scrub, like a real rough, gritty, exfoliator. I must admit I was scared after my last exfoliating experience caused more problems than it solved, but this felt amazing!

There’s absolutely no way any photograph could show how amazing my skin felt afterwards. My blemishes were reduced in texture and redness, and overall the surface of my face was so much smoother, plus crazy soft. If you use this, you will stroke your face for hours afterwards in wonder! Haha. It really is a miracle worker! 

This didn't leave my skin feeling dry or tight, and it got rid of some annoying dry patches from old blemishes. I'm completely bowled over by this face mask. I’m excited to try the Super-Mud mask now, and I might even order the eye mask that they do too. I strongly suggest trying the samples of this to see how great this product is for yourself.

Gem :]

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What is This.... | Tumblr

I've finally taken the step into the Tumblr world. So far, I'm very scared and confused, what is this crazy internet place with very dark corners.

Hopefully I'll get the hang of it, but right now I feel very old. Like that parent who can just about text, even if it is in capitals with full stops for spaces.

http://gemske3.tumblr.com

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No, I Don’t Want No Scrubs | Marks and Spencer Formula Daily Care Gentle Face Scrub

I wanted to try a scrub to ease up the marks, pigmentation, scars, blemishes, whatever you want to call them, that spots had left behind. So instead of being overwhelmed in Boots, I went to Marks & Spencer. 

I know there isn’t really a logical link there, apart from M&S was next door to me at the time, and Boots was at least 2 shops away. So I nipped into the M&S cafe for a cuppa, and did a quick Google of M&S skincare (courtesy of the free Wi-Fi) and read some really good reviews on this scrub. I figured that for £3.50 it wouldn't break the bank and I needed a hit, I hadn't bought any skin care for a while and I needed to feed my habit...

 I feel like I should be ashamed of that last sentence, but I'm not! Haha.

 I've tried this a few times over the last 4 months, but sadly it breaks me out and is pretty drying. Also, it didn’t help that in my eagerness to try it (like 30 minutes after purchase) I scrubbed some active spots, and spread them all over my face. Go me. 

If you Google Pisces star chart, that was the lovely pattern I created on my face. I know it sounds ridiculous, I’m actually an Aries.

Anyway, I think if you have less sensitive skin then this would work just fine, as I read sooo many good reviews on this I wouldn't put it down. It feels great on the skin, all gritty and cleansing, like you're really getting down there and cleaning stuff out, but it just didn't work for me.

 On the plus side it makes an awesome body scrub! My elbows and knee have never felt so soft, and I’m surprised that I’m enjoying the fact that it’s scent free. It’s also great to use just before shaving, just make sure you rinse all the little scrubby beads off. 
Oh skin, why you so mad bro?

 This is a serious question I ask my face daily, but alas it does not answer, and so the battle continues. Moral of the story, research your products and don’t rush to use them, no matter how fun it seems!

Gem

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