Glamour Magazine Freebie: Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve.

Last month I bought Glamour Magazine just so I could get my hands on a couple of free Benefit samples, I was never too interested in magazines, but I did read last months issue and I actually quite enjoyed it, so I decided to purchase this months, completely oblivious to the free Balance Me gifts in this months issue!

  I have never tried any Balance Me products before, so I was very excited to try this. With the magazine there was a choice of three Balance Me products, a moisturiser, an eye cream, a face wash and a lip salve. I chose the lip salve as I am always on the hunt for a good new lip salve!

  I have only been using the products a couple of days but I already LOVE it! First of all, because it is rose it smells and tastes heavenly. It is very moisturising and has a nice texture - on the tube it claims that it 'plumps, smooths and hydrates' and I agree that it does all three. This product is also 100% natural origin, and I like that.

  A full sized tube of this product is £12, I would happily go and buy a full sized tube when I have finished the tube that came with the magazine, I have already used it a lot - even in place of a lipgloss or lipstick throughout the day, I just love it!

  

I would love to try some more Balance Me products, do you have any recommendations? If you do please leave them in the comments:). Thank you for reading!

   

How I deal with my stretch marks!

Hey guys! I often get asked 'how come you have stretch marks? You're not tall or overweight at all' well, when I was about 13 I had my growth spurt and haven't seemed to do much in the way of growing since then! I suddenly grew really fast, and was therefore left with stretch marks. These are something I have been self-concious of ever since - to the point where I don't even like to put on a bikini in front of my friends in the summer! I thought I would share this post with you in case anyone reading suffers from the same problem and would be interested in what I do to help improve the appearance of my stretch marks.
  I exfoliate my affected areas every other day using either an exfoliating glove or Soap and Glory Pulp-Friction Body Scrub. Then when I get out of the bath or shower and my skin is still slightly damp I apply Palmer's Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks. In the evening before applying the Palmer's Lotion I rub a thin layer of Bio Oil into my stretch marks, and then put the Palmer's Lotion over the top.
  Results aren't instant, improvement takes a couple of months - and patience! And I personally don't think that doing this will clear stretch marks completely, just improve the appearance somewhat - which is better than nothing, right? I know there are other methods to clear stretch marks, such as laser removal, and considering how self-concious I feel about my stretch marks, it isn't an option I have completely dismissed, but first I'll definitely just see how I get on with the products I am using at the moment!

My Skincare Routine: Clinique 3 Step

Hey guys! For me personally, skincare is probably the most important part of my beauty routine - why cover your skin in make-up and other products when you are not going to look after it. My skincare routine has never really changed, I have used the Clinique 3-Step religiously for a long time - the only thing I change is my moisturiser occasionally, for example more recently I have been using the Superdefence moisturiser for dry combination skin rather than the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel (which is specifically step 3 of the 3-Step skincare routine), because my skin hasn't been as oily recently! I've still had an oily t-zone but dry patches on my chin and cheeks.
  I like the Clinique 3-Step because it isn't too harsh on my skin and it doesn't break me out at all! I know it is frowned upon by some because of the price, but personally I don't think it is at all overpriced, the products last for ages work really well!
  I went into Clinique today to stock up on some skincare, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that, at the moment, with any two skin care purchases you receive a free skin care kit, there was a choice of 5 kits (I think) and I went with the anti-blemish solutions one, I wonder how this will compare to my usual 3-Step skin care routine?!

Getting my feet ready for summer! Soap and Glory Heel Genius.

Hello guys! It may seem a little late to be preparing my feet for summer, but in England summer still looks as if it's ages away, and preparing them now is better late than never! All through the winter, I have to admit, my feet were probably a little neglected, they were kept warm all cooped up in thick socks and boots, but I allowed the underneath of my foot to go dry and crack (gross, I know), so I thought it was better late then never to save them so they would look presentable in sandals and flip flops in the coming months!
  This foot cream is a light bluey-green colour which I quite like, it is also very thick, for me this is a good thing because I find body creams of any sort a little pathetic when they are all watery and runny. I pop quite a generous amount of this onto the soles of my feet every night before bed and wear socks over the top to help the cream sink in and do the job.
  I don't particularly like the feeling of wearing socks full of foot cream to bed but I think the results make it all rather worth it. Even after a night or so, the state of my feet had improved and were no longer quite so dry. It also, like every other Soap and Glory, smells lovely, so surely that is an added bonus!
  I paid £.5.50 for this product and it seems to have lasted forever, so I think it is quite a small price to pay for a foot cream that really works and goes a long way!

Thanks for reading :)

How much does your face cost?

After reading Describing Beauty's post on how much does your face cost? I was instantly curious about the cost of my own face, if not a little nervous! I decided to find out anyhow and share it with you all!

Moisturiser: Clinique Superdefence £37

Lip Balm: Blistex Intense Moisturiser £2.59

Primer: No. 7 Colour Calming Primer - £11

Foundation: Clinique Superbalanced £21.50

Concealer: Which (I don't think it has a name?!) £4.99

Powder: Rimmel Clear Complexion £3.99

Eyebrows: Natural Collection Eyeshadow 'Crushed Walut' £1.79

Eyeshadow: Natural Collection 'Sea Shell' £1.79

Eyeliner: Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl £5.00

Mascara: Bourjois Volumizer £10.49

Lipstick: MAC 'Patisserie' £13.50

Lipgloss: Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker 'Candy Gloss' £9.00

Total: £122.54 - eek!!

You may have noticed I haven't included blush or bronzer, this is because I only wear these products on special occasions or nights out because I have very red cheeks naturally so I don't feel like I need the extra products in the daytime.

I'd be interested to read your 'how much does my face cost?' posts too! Let me know below if you post one. Thanks for reading!

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector - All-In-One B.B. Cream.

Hey Guys! I have never really thought of trying B.B. creams too much before, but when I received a free sample of Garnier's B.B. Cream (I ordered my free sample here) I thought I may as well give it a go!
  The product is described as a 'Miracle Skin Perfector' but personally I wouldn't say it was a 'perfector' it has a very sheer coverage and therefore didn't completely perfect my skin. Nevertheless I do really like this product, I like that it has quite a sheer coverage, I think it's nice, especially for summer, and it is very moisturising - maybe a little too moisturising for my oily skin but it is fine as long as I set the B.B. Cream with powder immediately after applying it, and touch up my makeup every few hours - but for drier skins I think this would be just lovely. This product also has SPF 15 which I like and it smells good but hasn't broken me out (yet)!
  The sample I received was in the colour 'light' this matched my skin fairly well, it was a little dark for me but it wasn't too bad when it was blended the product down my neck, but I thought that the colour was way to dark to be called 'light'.
  This B.B. Cream claims to even, cover, illuminate, hydrate and protect your skin, I agree that it does most of these things apart from 'cover', as I have said it is very sheer and therefore doesn't really cover any blemishes or imperfections on the skin. The packaging also says that this B.B. Cream can be used 'as a primer' when I tried this I thought that the B.B. Cream made my pores stand out more so than what they would have done if I had used a normal primer or even just my foundation, so perhaps I wouldn't recommend it for use as a primer!
  I don't think I like this product enough to go and purchase the full sized tube, but I think maybe I would like it more if I had a drier skin type and Garnier offered a wider colour range!

Thank you for reading, have you tried this or any other B.B. Creams? Let me know if you have and what you thought about them in the comments below!

Glamour Magazine Benefit Sample Reviews #2: The POREfessional Primer

Hey guys! I know this review is probably a bit late - I am sorry!! But I thought I would review this product anyway, because I just love it! After being disappointed with the mascara I was left unsure of what I would think of this product - but even after the first time I used it I loved it!

  I found it really did fill out my pores and make my skin look more even, this obviously improved the way my foundation looked on my skin. I also found it made my foundation last longer, which I find difficult with my oily skin!

  When I first got this I wrote a blog post on my first impressions and said how I was a little worried the primer would make me break out because it had a nice smell, but I didn't have this problem at all! It was absolutely fine on my skin - in fact, I like it so much I think I might go and buy the full size product, I have been looking for a good primer for a while, and I think this is my answer!

  Thank you for reading :)