No7 Skin Care Review

Last year I never really had a skin care routine per se, I just used to grab what ever was to hand to take my make up off and clean my face. However this year, I have decided, is going to be a good skin year and I'm going to invest more time into taking care of my combination skin. You maybe remember that I picked up the No7 skin care set in the sales after Christmas, for about the past 4 weeks I have been using these products twice daily and I feel that is long enough for me to now share my thoughts and opinions of these products with you.

The set that I bought contained Beautiful Skin eye make up remover 30ml, Beautiful Skin hot cloth cleanser 50ml, Protect & Perfect day cream & night cream both 25ml. 

The eye make up remover is probably my least favourite out of the set. I mainly used this in the evenings to remove my eye make up but I found it took quiet a lot of product to get it all off especially mascara and I don't even use waterproof mascara. I also found the make up remover to be quiet greasy and due to this I no longer use it.

No7's Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser is my first taste of the hot cloth world. I found it bizarre rubbing a cream onto dry skin to clean my face but to be honest its quiet relaxing and then when I put the muslin cloth on my face I feel like the cleanser is really working its magic. The cleanser isn't harsh and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight afterwards and I really like the way the cloth is like a gentle exfoliator and gets rid of any dead skin cells. My face definitely feels super cleansed after using this hot cloth cleanser and I really like the pump dispenser as it means that you get to use all of the product and it doesn't get left around the sides of the container. You can probably tell by the fact it is nearly finished that I have enjoyed using this.

As you can imagine having not had a real skin care routine before I haven't really used separate moisturisers for day and night before but I'm certainly getting more into it. Both of these moisturisers have a good consistency, they are not so thin they don't feel like they are doing anything but nor are they too thick either, and they both sink nicely into my skin and leave my face feeling lovely and soft. With the night cream I have noticed that in the mornings my face does look rather greasy but having not used a specific night cream before I have nothing to compare it too and don't know if this is what I should expect from a night cream.

This set has been great for getting me started in the world of skin care but as these products are for all skin types I think I need to invest in products that are specific to my skin type. I have also found that whilst using these products I have come out in a few spots and break outs are not something I have ever suffered with other than the odd one at that time of the month, but I'm not sure if this could be because my skin is not used to having this kind of cleansing routine. 

My journey into the skin care world has begun, this set is great for getting started and as I bought it in the sale it was also excellent value. I'm on the look out for new skin care products to try so let me know your skin care recommendations for hydrating skin and banishing the shine, I'm sure with your help I'll have a suitable skin care routine nailed in no time at all.

Kayla xx

Glossybox: January

It's beauty box time and subsequently decision time! If you are a regular reader of my blog you will already be aware of this, but for a any new readers out there *waves at you* I'll explain. I currently have 2 beauty box subscriptions, Birchbox and Glossybox, this month I need to decide which one I am going to keep and which one to cancel as one subscription is more than enough and also I'll save some pennies. I have already posted about this month Birch box, you can check that out here if you haven't already. Now onto January's Glossybox.

Review: My Beauty Compare

Do you ever have those moments where you make a purchase that your all excited about and when you tell your friend you find out that she got it cheaper some where else? Well to help us all avoid this problem and to save us endless hours of searching various websites to get the best deal on our beauty addiction there is a new solution to help us save time and be price savvy...

Intuition, A Close Shave?

When woman was created who on earth thought that what we would most like is to have hair growing on our legs? Being female comes with additional tasks and attention to details that males do not have to think of, most of these are enjoyable and can even be relaxing, maintaining/painting nails, applying make up, playing around with hairstyles I could do these all day long, no problem (if I didn't have a full time job and a house to run of course) and then there is the removal of unwanted hair, urgh what a chore! and the fact that the soft silky legs results last merely a day just adds to my loathing of this task!

#NOTW - Adding Some Glitz To An Old Favourite

Its time for another nail look and this week I have gone for an old Favourite and given it a new twist. It will probably come as no surprise but here I give you another Essie offering and a power couple in the world nail polish. 

Birchbox - January

It's beauty box time, the first one of 2014 and I'm still battling over which subscription to keep and the January box's are the decider so once I receive my other beauty box I will make a decision. But for now here is January's Birchbox offering.

Mini Sales Haul

After the excitement of Christmas comes the hustle and bustle of the January sales. This year I was very good and only made a few purchases but that was mainly down to a) my purse feeling the pinch after Christmas and b) I was given vouchers for our local shopping centre for Christmas so I could only really shop in the stores rather than on-line. I wasn't overly impressed with the sales this year but that could be because I like to enjoy the festive period with my family and didn't rush out on Boxing day and join in the chaos searching for a bargain (I couldn't think of anything worse, hats off to you that faced those crazy crowds), if I did maybe I would have found more but any way here are the few purchases I made. 

#DIY - Make Up Brush Holder

Today I have for you a different kind of post, it's a #DIY post that I have been meaning to do for a while but just never got round to so today I'm finally going to share it with you. Now up-cycling and getting crafty with everyday objects, giving them a new lease of life and another use is not something I generally do so simplicity was the key for me and definitely what you can expect from this post. Here goes....

#NOTW - The First Of The Year

Happy New Year, I hope you all had a fab time celebrating! Welcome to my first post and nail colour of 2014! I love painting my nails and trying out new polishes so as "#Nail Of The Week" is likely to be a regular feature I decided it needed a title pic, my camera and laptop collided and the above was created (I hope you like it, I know its nothing special but hey I'm giving it a go and learning along the way). Any way lets get back to the important matter of what is gracing my nails for the first week of the year.

Now first off please excuse the dry skin and awful cuticles, this is on the top of my to-do list and I'll get it sorted ASAP. Now you will probably recognise these two lil beauties from my last post, I have been desperate to try these out since I opened them on Christmas Day but what better time to try this look than New Years Eve. So as we were having a cosy night in I decided I would glam up my nails whilst watching New Years Eve TV and apply a little Essie glitz to my finger tips. 

I'm going to start with the main colour in the look which is Fiji, this is an absolutely adorable baby pink colour which will be perfect for spring or when ever your having a pastel kind of day! If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have a whole lotta love for Essie polishes and while I do love this look it took a bit more effort to create than some of the other colours I have. 

Fiji is definitely not a 1 coat polish but once you figure out how to achieve the look you want it takes no time at all. I discovered the following method achieved the opaque, streak free finish that I was after. I applied a thin first coat to my nails, this was very streaky and totally see through and left me very worried as to what the end result would be. I let the first coat dry for a few mins and then went in with the second coat. Now this one is the important one, you need to have enough product on the brush to ensure you can cover your nail in a generous (but not too thick) layer in one go (I found going back to the bottle for more product resulted in an uneven finish) this covered up any streaks from the first coat and ensured a consistent colour all over the nail. Perfect!

Now to add a touch of glitz I used the top coat that came as a set with Fiji, this is one of Essie's Multi Dimension top coats in the shade A Cut Above. This is a clear top coat that has specks of lovely, rosy pink glitter within it. I chose to use this for an accent nail and applied it to the finger nail next to my little finger on both hands (I used a standard top coat on the rest of my nails). As far as application goes I started by brushing this on as you normally would with top coat and then if I felt an area was sparse I made sure I had glitter on the end of the brush and dabbed it where I wanted more glitter. I was concerned that the glitter top coat would be a rough finish and would snag on clothing etc. and potentially not last very long but I was wrong, the finish is a little rough but there are no sharp edges so it is smoothish at the same time (well that made sense in my head, here's hoping it translates ok) and doesn't catch or snag on anything. I have been sporting this look for 5 days now and it still looks fab!

I love this look, Essie never fails to impress me and the glitter means you can add a touch of sparkle for a special occasion or just because... Lets face it there is no excuse required for a bit of sparkle in your life! Have you tried Essie's glittery top coats? What is you favourite nail brand? Which shade were you rocking to see the new year in?

Kayla xx