Autumn Skincare

A round-up of my current favourite skincare products, a few I've switched in for autumn as I put away my holy grail summer products for another year.

Dry hands are a no-go for me, so hand cream is always an essential. I have multiple; one in my handbag, one on my desk at work and this Atrixo one lives in the drawer of my bedside table. For me, it's one of the products my lovely mum swears by, and therefore, so do I. It's super inexpensive, and has camomile in it, making it really soothing. It absorbs quickly which is also another huge tick for me, nobody has time to wait for hand cream to sink in, or leave a greasy film on the skin (as I find a lot of hand creams do), which this staple doesn't either.

Available at Boots.

Carmex lip balm. A classic. Not much needs to be said about this little pot of goodness except for the following: it works. I'm a lip balm junkie, I always want to buy more because every week there seems to be a new one out and I'm on a constant hunt for the holy grail product that'll stop my lips getting dry, not leave them feeling sticky, not just slide off and will actually last. And for that, I always end up going back to Carmex. I prefer the little pot rather than the tube (even though the tube is much more hygenic, especially when you travel a lot on public transport) because I find the consistency better. It has a slight medicinal scent to it, but I quite like that, I feel like it's actually doing something. Just me?

Available in lots of places, but here it is at Boots.

Continuing with the lip trend, this Clarins Lip Oil is a new addition to my stash of lip products. It's actually called 'Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil' and this is a whole new family to the lip game... I've not tried any others but for me this is something which helps lock in moisture, as well as being moisturising. It's really lightweight and isn't as heavy or stick as a lip gloss, but gives a nice sheen to the lips. I'm a big fan.

It's a bit pricey at £18, available to buy at Selfridges.

When is it time to start using eye cream? I have no idea but something tells me at only being four years away from turning 30, mid twenties isn't a bad time. I was recently lucky enough to attend the Beauty Trends conference in London, and there was a little set of Dermalogica products in the goody bag. I've not tried anything from them before, so this was exciting (yep, I get excited over new products all the time) to see. I've been using this eye cream every evening since, and like the Atrixo hand cream, it lives in my bedside table drawer, and applying it is always one of the last things I do before having the final scroll through of Twitter for the evening (and then try to sleep but inevitably check Instagram again just in case I've missed something). It feels nice on the skin and definitely takes a while to sink in, which to me means it's really working.

Available at Dermalogica.

This little pot is ah-mazing. Super nourishing, this is an essential to keep cuticles moisturised and soft; nobody wants the rough cuticles which winter brings with it. The scent is lovely and I apply a small amount to each nail before bed.

Buy from Feel Unique.

The Spring Sorbet Shades

I'm so happy spring has finally sprung and (all nail varnishes obsessesives can relate to the following) I can reach for the nail polishes with the creamy, pastel hues in my collection and also pick up a few new shades from the high street summer 2015 launches! Here's a little round up of my favourite shades at the moment...

1. Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Lychee - £3.99

An oldie but a goodie. The formula of this range has been raved about in the blogosphere for the last few years, as it deserves to be. It's a beautiful honey toned nude, which reminds me of caramel ice cream! It applies like a dream and to make it extra shiny I'm always sure to add a coat of my beloved Seche Vite.

2. Barry M Speedy Quick Dry in Eat My Dust - £3.99

This is the shade I've seen all of Instagram recently. I bought it when Barry M launched this collection around six weeks ago, and had a painful realisation that it was just too blue for March; blues to me are always a spring/summer shade! Roll on a few months later and I can see myself reaching for this pretty soon... It's a creamy light blue with slight purple and grey tones mixed in for good measure.

3. Golden Rose Paris Nail Lacquer in 261

I picked up this (as well as two others!) when I was on holiday in Turkey last month, I'm not sure of it's availability in the UK but having picked up a few whilst on holiday a few years ago, I made sure to visit the Turkish equivalent of Superdrug in Antalya. This cost around 70p which is incredible; the formula is as good as my all time favourite (Sally Hansen) and it applies amazingly well. This colour is a pretty peachy pink which I can see myself wearing a lot this summer. Definitely one to look out for if you're heading to Turkey on holiday.

4. Barry M Speedy Quick Dry in Pit Stop - £3.99

After realising 'Eat My Dust' was just a tad too blue, I decided to give this shade a try instead and it was the exact shade I wanted! I'd describe it as a purple toned greige shade and as the name suggests it certainly is a quick drier. The colour goes with everything as it's neutral, definitely one to keep in your stash for times when you have no idea what colour to go for!

What shades are you loving this spring?

Transitional nail colours

I'm a nail polish addict. I dread to think how many polishes I own, but to give a vague idea, I have at least four Glossy Boxes full, plus, two makeup bags which hold about 10-12 in each, plus a wicker basket which fits magazines in... And that's covered by a layer of polishes too. Oh, and then I have a stash of my current faves (to save me rummaging through the nail polish abyss on my bookcase) in my drawer. This is what this post is all about; my three favourites. Which also seem to be great 'It's winter but it's past Christmas, so I can't wear too dark a polish, but it's also not spring so I can't go too bright' transitional colours.

So, here are my three loves. From L-R: Rimmel - Aye Aye Sailor, Sally Hansen - Commander in Chic, Rimmel - Black Cherries

 

Rimmel - Aye Aye Sailor is the perfect navy blue. I used to have quite an aversion to blue nail polish as I always favoured more girly shades (being able to wear nail polish when you were in year 11 at school was a highlight of my school years, hello pink glittery nails!) and blue just seemed a bit meh. Then, as I started to have a penchant for more neutral, plain, 'shades that go with any outfit' I thought I would try this beauty. And what a beauty it is. It's a very dark inky blue, which applies like a dream. the swatch above is three coats but I normally do two of this and finish with a coat of Seche Vite and it will last about 5 days.

Commander in Chic is the perfect pink/grey/beige nude, greige with a hint of a pink, a girly greige... you get the jist (if you're a big a nail polish fan as me, where all nudes definitely don't look the same!). I delved into my collection specifically for this shade after spying the new Dior Spring Collection polishes (FYI - they're amazing) and falling in love with a shade called Lady. Sally Hansen nail polishes are one of my favourite formulations, super long lasting, not streaky to apply, a brush wide enough you can easily apply to the nail quite quickly, and most importantly, they don't chip easily. 

The final of my favourite trio is another Rimmel colour called Black Cherries. Before Christmas, I was obsessed with this shade, and even though it's now February, that obsession hasn't gone! It's got a slight shimmer to it making it a little different to your average deep purple polish, and applied to square nails it makes them look pristine. It's definitely one not to apply with a shaky hand - one nudge and it's game over, this polish needs to be applied really carefully as otherwise the edges will look messy - a pet hate of mine. I'm going to sad to put this away when I finally cave to the bright coral hues and whimsical pinks of spring!

'Your lips but better'

Up until the age of 24, I can safely say the thought of wearing lipstick instantly made me think of Miranda Sings. I'm cursed fortunate enough to have quite full lips, which on one hand is nice, whereas on the other, it means I'm quite likely to look like a clown when I wear a coloured lipstick. I would previously always stick to lip balm, and if I was feeling brave, whack out the Korres lip butter in pomegranate (crazy life). 

This was until a visit to the Chanel counter on Kings Road opened my eyes to the 'your lips but better' lipstick - Chanel Boy. Boy, oh Boy... This lipstick is a dream. Couple that with a Chanel lip liner (just as dreamy) and add a Benefit lip gloss... A-maz-ing.

  

 

Top row: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy, Chanel Lip Liner in Rose Poudre

Bottom Row: Chanel Lip Liner in Rose Poudre, Benefit Lip gloss in Dandelion

Boy is super hydrating and keeps my lip moisturised whilst also giving them a sheer hint of colour which just evens them out. It's quite a cool-toned pink shade, which is supposedly 'universally flattering' and I can see why! It's fab on it's own and also with a gloss over the top (as I like to wear it). 

The lovely lady at the Chanel counter paired the lip liner in Rose Poudre with Boy for me and I absolutely love the combination. Rose Poudre is a gorgeous powdery pink, a shade ever so slightly deeper than my natural lip colour; perfect for creating the Kylie Jenner lip look (still not brave enough for that!). 

The gloss I always head for is by Benefit, it's a coral shade with a very slight hint of shimmer. Although I'm not a huge gloss fan, I do like this as it adds a bit more hydration to my lips and lightens the colour ever so slightly.

Overall, this is a lip combo I adore and it's my current go-to whilst I build up the coverage to make another lipstick purchase!