Morning Skincare Routine

Hello! Whenever people ask me about my morning skincare routine, I always think ‘morning skincare? what morning skincare??’ but actually recently I have made myself stick to a routine (which was one of my goals of 2014!) and although it looks like a LOAD of stuff, it takes me around 5 minutes max, because I’m not really a morning person (said every student ever)

Starting with a cleanser, if I’ve used any oils or spot treatments the night before I like to make sure all residue is removed. Currently I’ve been using the REN cleansing gel, which I reviewed here. It is lightweight and free from parabens, sulphates, fragrances etc;

I pump a small amount on my fingers and rub it into my skin, then using a damp flannel I remove the cleanser, finishing off with a thorough rinsing of the skin.

Once I’ve rinsed the cleanser off, I tone my skin to make sure all dirt and remaining residue is wiped off. I firstly spritz my face with Lush’s Eau Roma Water which claims to ‘hydrate the skin without causing it to overreact’.Then I take half a cotton pad and gently wipe off the rest of the water. The main ingredient in this is lavender water, which has very calming properties for the skin. (I also love using rosewater on the skin.)

Now my face is fresh and clean, as I have normal-dry skin I do find the gel cleanser a little drying on the skin, so I go in with a serum. I squeeze a small blob of hydraluron on my ring finger and rub it into my face, forehead and chin.  This claims to ‘increase skin hydration from below the surface….and holds up to 1,000 times in its weight.’ I do definitely find myself using LESS moisturiser after I have applied this and I enjoy using it, but I’m also curious to try out other serums similar to this when I’ve used this tube up.

My current moisturiser of choice is the Reve de Meil Ultra Comfortable Face Cream which is pretty high-end, for me anyways!  I used to swear by the oilatum one, however my skin got too used to that and it stopped retaining the moisture :(

This french cream is thick and nourishing, and I am really enjoying using it!

I always try to apply an eye cream morning and night, but especially before I do my makeup as I still have dry patches around my eyes which means they need extra tlc. I’m using the Good Things bright eyes, eye cream which claims to tackle puffiness and dark circles. I can’t say it’s done much for the darkness after consistent use for at least three months, however I do like how moisturising it feels for the delicate under-eye area. My face cream feels a little too thick for under the eyes, but this seems just right.

Finally I apply my Reve de Meil Lip Balm, y’know the one every blogger who has tried it seems to love? I think to be honest I was quite undewhelmed by it at first…but I do love how it moisturises my lips, leaves a matte finish (so any lipstick ontop applies evenly) and also lasts for longer than the average lip balm.

…and that is about it! My morning skincare routine complete! I will be posting a nightime skincare routine in a couple of days as I do tend to switch my products up a little. What are you favourite morning skincare loves?

Thanks for reading!

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Morning Skincare Routine

Hello! Whenever people ask me about my morning skincare routine, I always think ‘morning skincare? what morning skincare??’ but actually recently I have made myself stick to a routine (which was one of my goals of 2014!) and although it looks like a LOAD of stuff, it takes me around 5 minutes max, because I’m not really a morning person (said every student ever)

E.L.F Hits & Misses

Hello everybody! Now when it comes to makeup, e.l.f (eyes, lips, face.com) were the first drugstore brand that I saw talked about ALL over YouTube a couple of years ago and I became very intrigued! It seemed like a cheap but good quality makeup brand, perfect for beginners to makeup and students! I think some of their products are fantastic and fast forward to now, with a good few hauls later I want to share with you the products that ticked my boxes, and the ones that left me feeling disappointed.

I only ever buy e.l.f products during their 50% off sale, and when I do I always share it on instagram because there are some real bargains to be had! Generally each product from the studio line costs around £3.75, but with 50% off you can work out that you’re paying less than £2 for things that are worth more! I would just like to point out that some of these products that HAVE worked out well for me, but may not do so for you, and vica versa!

I’m going to mix this up, starting with a few HITS

 

1. E.L.F Make-up Mist and Set

I absolutely love this spray, and for a long time I had the MAC fix+ but kept using this one over MAC! Not only is it a refreshing mist to the face, it gets rid of any powdery-ness too. I don’t normally set my makeup with powder, but I always set my under-eyes with my favourite Ben Nye banana powder, and the mist and set helps to smooth it out. It also keeps my face looking dewy, and feeling refreshed. As for a ‘setting spray’ I wouldn’t quite label it as one as I don’t notice a significant lasting effect when I wear this, but the promising ingredients (green tea, cucumber, aloe and vitamins A,C &E) as well as the finishing effect of the spray make it worth using!

 

2. Matte Lip Colors

I have this in three shades; Rich Red, Coral and Natural. Firstly the packaging – easy and convenient for travelling with the twist up function so no need for a sharpener, and the matte black exterior makes it look sleek. I also like how the colours are at the end of the pencil, making it a bit easier to pick up the correct shade straight away! Now moving on to the product, these are in-between matte and cream, and blotting after application is important. The red shade is gorgeous, a true red in my eyes and I also like using this as a lipliner (and base) for other red shades. The coral shade is lovely for this time of the year, especially with a gloss on top and overall for under £2 these are a steal!

 

3. E.L.F Angled Eyeliner Brush

I have raved about this brush so many times, and that’s because I used it every single day when I became obsessed with gel liner! It’s still my favourite eye liner brush, and the angled element to it, gives you a lot of control with the liner and I like the length and thickness of the brush too. I own two of these, and always recommend people to pick one up during the sales!

 

4. ELF Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick

Possibly the worst lip product I have ever purchased in my life, the gloss stick in coco loco, this jumbo stick type lip product, is full of glitter. Yes – GLITTER. I understand a bit of shimmer, but when applied to the lips this just looks bizarre. It has a pink/coral undertone but the insane amount of glitter/shimmer makes it unwearable for me. I also purchased this in another shade, which I ended up throwing away, so clearly I wasn’t impressed with the product as a whole not just this shade. I only kept this pencil for THIS very post!

5. ELF Studio Blush – Tickled Pink

When I first purchased ELF products, the blushers were what I was most excited about. However now I’ve tried other drugstore blushers, I think there are better alternatives for a decent price - aside from Mellow Mauve (reviewed here). So on to this shade, although it would probably work ok for fairer skin tones, I find this chalky and seriously lacking pigmentation. To get a decent amount of colour, I have to layer this up so many times, and it doesn’t even last long! I’d highly recommend looking at the pink shades available from MUA if you’re wanting to try an affordable shade, which actually has pigmentation!

Hit AND a Miss??

6. The Contouring Blush and Bronzers

The contouring blush and bronzers are some of the most spoken about products from the ELF line, and frequently compared to NAR’S laguna and Orgasm blusher. I now own that NARS duo VERY EXCITING! But anyways have owned the original and the darker version for over a year and reached for them both less than 5 times. I think that if you can’t easily access Sleek, then these are worth a try if you’re looking for a drugstore contour and highlight shade. The original…does the job. However what always puts me off is the shimmer in the bronzer (as this is a big contouring no-no). It doesn’t transfer that much on the skin but I still much prefer a truly matte bronzer and if you can get your hands on Sleek, then just go for that its faultless in my eyes and lasts for ages. 

Moving on to some more HITS…

7. ELF Warm Bronzer

I first saw this on The BeautyCrush’s channel years ago, and I should have listened to Sammie from the start! This is probably my favourite drugstore bronzer for warming up the face. It consists of 4 shades, and the only way I use this is by swirling my Real Technique’s powder brush in the middle and then doing the ‘3’ shape on both sides of my face. The shades with the mixes of brown tones, the warmth of the pink and the glow of the yellow gives the most beautiful glow and warmth! It also has a decent sized mirror which is useful for travelling ^_^ By themselves the shades aren’t the most pigmented, but that’s what makes them blend together nicely!

 

8. Mineral Lipsticks

These are only £2.50 with the 50% off and they are also some of my favourite lipsticks. Comfortable, pigmented and they also have a decent lasting time on the lips too. I like the sleek packaging, and the range of colours too. I featured Runway pink in my spring lips favourite, I ADORE party pink which has a subtle golden tone to it in a very classy way. ‘Rosy Raisin’ is a brilliant nude shade for my skin tone! The brighter/darker colours are lovely too and honestly two good quality lipsticks for a fiver?? YES PLEASE!

 

9. ELF Flawless Concealer Brush

Finally, this is one of my favourite brushes ever. I love this for gently buffing in concealer around the nose and right on top of a blemish as it doesn’t disturb the base underneath, the head of the brush is super fluffy and soft and the size means it can blend in product in awkward places that a larger brush can miss!

 

These HITS are products which I reach for often and if all my stash went missing (I’m getting nervous just thinking about that!) I would definitely pick all of these up again! I don’t have as many misses as most people, because most of the time I do review everything I buy, but sometimes products just don’t work for everyone!

I hope this post has been helpful to anyone wondering what my ELF favourites are!

Let me know what your hits and misses are down below ^_^

 

Thanks for reading!

 Follow Via Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Follow on Instagram | Like The Blushing Giraffe on Facebook

E.L.F Hits & Misses

Hello everybody! Now when it comes to makeup, e.l.f (eyes, lips, face.com) were the first drugstore brand that I saw talked about ALL over YouTube a couple of years ago and I became very intrigued! It seemed like a cheap but good quality makeup brand, perfect for beginners to makeup and students! I think some of their products are fantastic and fast forward to now, with a good few hauls later I want to share with you the products that ticked my boxes, and the ones that left me feeling disappointed.

April Update & Northampton Bloggers Meet-up!

Hello everybody! I haven’t blogged for what feels like weeks and weeks! This week in particular has been horrendous, with Uni kindly giving me three exams in three days! I do still have one left next week, but after a little refreshing nap I decided I need to type up a little post, which is almost two weeks overdue. It has been far too long blogging world!

A wonderful wedding

April was the busiest month yet, starting off with my uncle’s wedding (which was actually the very end of March but we shall roll with this) and it was probably the most anticipated event of the year for our family ^_^ And masha’Allah what an amazing wedding it was! I ended up taking around 400 photos! Practise makes perfect as they say – so here are a few to share with you all. I didn’t want to post anyone’s faces, privacy and all that but I hope you enjoy this small selection!

These were my auntie's sleeve’s – how gorgeous!!

The most delicious cupcakes ever! And the wedding cake with a poke in it haha

The decorations right at the end. Most of the photos were of the family,  but I’m pretty happy with how these little details turned out.

 

Burgers and the best company

At the start of April, my best friend Ana came home from Uni, and we went to try the newish burger place in town^_^ It was pretty cute, with an American diner sort of feel, and Ana told me she had first saw this place on Sammie’s blog!

The food was really delicious,  though I had to pick the veg option but it was just so nice to take a step back from the business of studying and working and just have a good ol’ catch-up!

 

Northampton Blogger’s Meet-up

Around the end of April I was lucky enough to attend my first ever blogger meet up! It was organised by the lovely Mia and Amber who did an AMAZING JOB, and it was located in Northampton. I don’t actually live there, but I’m in and out of Northamptonshire all the time and as I’ve not heard of any bloggers from my hometown, I figured this would be the closest meetup possible! I was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing, although I love writing comments and replying to people, tweeting etc.; in real life I always worry that I’ll come across as quite anti-social or boring – especially as I wasn’t REALLY familiar with any of the bloggers attending! But honestly it was such a fabulous day out! I meet some lovely girls, who also happen to be very talented bloggers ;D

The day started off with some drinks (mine were of course non-alcoholic as were the lovely Shanaz and Kamarle who are a sister blogging duo – do check out their fantastic blog here!). This was my first experience of a mock tail and in all honesty I thought there would be more of the drink and less of the ice! But a nice refreshing start nonetheless :P

and we were then introduced to a lovely lady called Becky who makes and sells soaps and shower gels in her kitchen! Her company is called Harlequin Cosmetics. I think its really impressive to start up your own business literally from your kitchen, and I admired her business flair!  She also kindly gave us samples of two of the soaps.

There was a raffle held which some amaaaazing prizes, and I was lucky enough to win this Mandara Spa soap and hand cream duo :D I NEVER win ANYTHING so this was super exciting!

And they look perfect in our family bathroom ^_^

After the intro, we went on to Pizza express, and waiting for us was a long table filled with goody bags! It was ever so exciting ^_^ We had all pre-ordered in advanced, and the dough balls were delicious, as was the pizza. We tucked into our huge and generous goodybags after lunch too, and took a sneak peak at some of the things we got. It was so overwhelming to come home and tip them all over the bed! Once again a massive thank you to Mia and Amber!

In-between the meal and the next treat…we had an hour to spare, so we all went our separate ways shopping. I went with Shanaz and       to H&M and ended up spending more than I had planned on clothes – but I did restrain myself when it came to Primark so *pats self on the back* not too bad after all ;D Here’s a random snap from the jewellery stand! And on a side note I have been LOVING H&M jewellery recently! So simple, chic and on point with the best prices too! We were laden down with the goodybags, shopping bags, cameras, handbags -  I can imagine we look like a bunch of crazy ladies laughing down the street!

After a lovely bit of shopping, we were able to move onto one of the best part of the day – our exclusive Lush party! It started at 5:30 when the whole centre had closed, and we were lucky enough to get a tour and talk through about everything to do with lush! I have SOO many photos from this part of the day, and as I haven’t cropped them all and sorted them out, I think I’ll dedicate a whole post to this very soon so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested ^_^

Mia and Amber you both organised a brilliant event! Thank you SO much for all your hard work, it lead to a wonderful day and I’m excited for the next one now :P

Phew! So quite the busy April I had! Our house has finally come together too and it was lovely having all the family over to see it, and I have done quite a bit of hauling over the past 3 weeks too…would anyone like to see a collective beauty haul? I’m really excited to get back into the swing of blogging soon, and catch up on my endless bloglovin list! I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the beautiful May weather – goodluck to those of you fellow students, I feel ya pain ._. hang in there, we can do it!!!

 

Thanks for reading!

Follow via Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Follow on Instagram | Like The Blushing Giraffe on Facebook

April Update & Northampton Bloggers Meet-up!

Hello everybody! I haven’t blogged for what feels like weeks and weeks! This week in particular has been horrendous, with Uni kindly giving me three exams in three days! I do still have one left next week, but after a little refreshing nap I decided I need to type up a little post, which is almost two weeks overdue. It has been far too long blogging world!