Skincare Routine (Morning - Night)

You could be buying the most expensive make-up to be putting on your face, but without a good base all that money is a waste. Skincare is the most important step in prepping your skin for make-up as well as keeping those pesky spots and imperfections at bay. So here is my little guide on how I achieve good skin, I must say everyone is different so the products I use may not suit others so just keep that in mind!

Good Morning X

Before I start my morning skincare regime I like to SHOWER. On a regular basis depending what time I have work I will aim to wake up 9 - 10. The first thing I do is hop out of the bed & hop in the shower. I prefer showers in the morning as it wakes me up and gives me a fresh (mind the pun) start to the day. After I get out I head to my bathroom cabinet and grab my goodies.

Cleanse:

In the morning I like to cleanse my skin just to remove any dirt or leftover make-up that was being stubborn from the day before. I keep it light and refreshing, so my favourite product to use is the 'Soap & Glory - Peaches And Clean' Cleanser.

Wash:

Washing my face in the morning just really wakes me up and leaves my skin with a soft film, again I like my products to have a fresh rejuvenating scent so the product I've been using recently is the Simply Clear Grapefruit Facial Wash. The scent is bomb.

Moisturise:

Can't stress how important it is to moisturise your skin to retain a healthy balance. Even if your oily, moisturise trust me it makes the world of difference. My favourite everyday moisturiser to use is the Garnier Essentials Everyday Moisturiser.

Good Night X

When I get home from work whether I've been wearing make-up in the day or not, I always pamper my skin to get rid of any dirt or bacteria its attracted throughout the day, gross right? If I really am feeling tired and I just want to jump into bed, I will ensure I've taken my make-up off and just slapped some moisturiser on. But normally, this is how it goes down at night...

Remove Make-Up: 

The key to less impurities, spots and the release of clogged pores. Remove that sh** before you sleep!! As soon as I get home the make-up is off, makes my skin feel airy and free again haha! My holy grail make-up remover is Garnier Micellar Water, this stuff is bomb for removing eye make-up.

Cleanse: 

Because the Micellar Water isn't the best at removing face make-up I like to go in with a cleansing balm, and my favourite one recommended by the one and only Kylie Jenner is the Ponds Balm. Pick it up for £3.00 at Boots and you wont look back. Apply dry and rinse with a hot wet flannel.

Wash / Scrub: 

At night time I'm not into all the fresh scents, I like to relaaax. Using a scrub around the pores and blackheads on my nose helps with keeping them at bay. But on the rest of my face I use a chemical free wash to get me in the mood for bed, my favourites being the Mario Badescu Face Wash.

Face Mask: (Optional)

On pamper nights I do like to go in hard with my skin, so using a mask to rewind and make me feel luxurious is always a good bet. Clay ones are my favourite and as much as I'd love to dive in and buy the Glam Glow one, we all aint rich haha! So for now I stick too... Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask.

Moisturise:

Again as I say moisturiser is so so so important. But at night-time its always best to go for a thicker cream which will take its time to sink into your skin overnight. I myself use a prescripted one for dry skin, but there are so many out there!

Oil: 

This is something I've only started using recently but OH MY GOD. Why have I never thought of it before! It has been my life saviour for dry patches around my nose and cheek areas. I got a sample size of the ESPA Face oil and I've been using it so sparingly as its so bloody expensive! Once I run out I think I'll cry.

So there you are, my Skincare routine for the colder months of the year. As I say everyone's skin is different so some of these products may not work for you but just make sure you know what skin type you have and look for products aimed at you! Thanks for reading lovelies.

Mel X

The Body Shop Shade Adjusting Drops Review

So it's been  good few days since I've posted but I've been away & had work, so now its my day off I'm back and doing a Review on The Body Shop Shade Adjusting Drops. 

Everyone knows about the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops which are priced at a whopping £36.00, I've never tried them myself so I thought this is the cheaper alternative and if they work well then bonus!

The Shade Adjusting Drops come in at £10.00 a pop, both containing 15ml, depending on how much you want to lighten or darken your foundation that is a great bloody price!
They offer 2 shades of the product, both being the lightening and the darkening. And as you can see from the images below the lightening shade is pretty much stark white with a slight hint of pink undertone. And the darkening shade is a chocolate brown, with just a neutral undertone.

As you can see from the images below the bottles come with a droplet like applicator, which I will say isn't the best functioned, it does take a few tries to get the desired amount of product out. I guess for £10.00 you aren't going to get overall great quality.

With the Lightening Product, the consistency of the product is very thin, which I liked because it gave me the impression it wouldn't change the consistency of my foundation which was my biggest fear. Once I started to mix it into my Estee Lauder Double Wear on the back of my hand I was so impressed with the fact that it lightened my foundation to my desired shade.
I will say mix little by little so you don't end up with a stark white looking foundation! The consistency and application and long-gevity of the foundation was exactly the same as it would be if I hadn't of used the shade adjusters which I was super impressed with. I would recommend this product as it saves you buying multiple shades in the foundation especially when they're not cheap.

2 droplets of each shade with a small amount of the Estee Lauder Foundation in 'Tawny'

Onto the darkening side of things, again the same consistency but a tad bit thicker, nothing too noticeable. A I started too mix in my fear came true from the reviews I'd previously heard, it did make my foundation muddy / grey looking. This disappointed me, because I only used a little amount and I thought it'd work. But it wasn't so bad where I would never wear it because a light bulb went ding in my head and I thought well hey? CONTOUR. This product would be great for liquid contouring, it has a a grey undertone and would create a natural base for contouring. As they say, good always over-rides the bad!

The middle shade is the original foundation, Left is the darkening shade once blended and the right is the lightening shade once blended.

So overall if I was going to reccomend just one of them based off of the way they perform, I would go with the lightening product! You obviously cant create different undertone based shades but its good to just lighten that foundation a tad if it doesn't match you perfectly! On the other hand the darkening would be great for a liquid contour so if thats what youre looking for, bobs your uncle ha! Thanks for reading lovelies.

Mel X