Guest Post - My Evening Skin Care Routine

Hello lovelies!

My name is Siobhan from The Hunrgy Bird, and although I am not new to the blogging community, The Hungry Bird is a whole new blog I have started so this particular blog is pretty fresh only being a few weeks old in the bloggersphere.

I'm a huge fan of lifestyle blogs, as I love the variety of the posts and being the nosey neighbour I am, I love having an insight into other peoples lives, and being inspired by other bloggers lifestyles.  This is why it is a privilidge for me to share my own insights on Maxine's blog here.
So lets get straight into it shall we!  Today I am going to share with you my evening skin care routine...

In recent months I've learnt just how important it is to look after my skin.  Whilst I was studying full time at uni and working three part time jobs, as you can imagine I didn't really have time for a full skin care routine.  It was a case of soap and water in the morning and a face wipe to take my makeup off in the evening...NOT GOOD!

Now I'm working full time and have a little more time and money on my hands, over the past few months I have been able to invest in a full skin care routine.  Now, because of my job and the hours I work, I pay particular attention to my evening skin care routine.  I have to be in the office at 8:00am Monday to Friday, so I'm up for 6:00am during the week, then there is that little thing called life in between, which doesn't usually see me going to bed before 11:00pm.  As you can imagine, my busy life and often lack of sleep can leave my skin looking dull and lifeless, which I imagine can be the case for other women out there, be they career women, mothers, or both!

The evening skin care routine I've formed for myself helps bring my skin to life in the morning, helping to make my skin look more radiant, even if I don't feel like it on the inside...

Makeup Removal
I personally don't think it matters at this stage what sort of makeup remover you use, so long as your chosen product does it's job in removing the excess makeup from your face.  My personal favourite is the Bioderma Crealine H2O makeup remover, as it dissolves the makeup when removing it instead of smearing it over your face.  However this is a French product, which cannot be purchased in stores in the UK.  I purchase mine from sellers on Ebay, but this usually comes at a cost of around £14.00 - £16.00.  Not cheap!

When I'm on the move I just use face wipes so as not to risk spilling my pricey Bioderma (this is out of experience!).  This week I'm house sitting for my aunty whilst she is at a wedding in Cyprus, so I have brought along with me the Soap & Glory facial cleansing wipes, which do the job just nicely, and cost me a mere £4.50 from my local Boots store.

Cleanser
My favourite cleanser at the moment is the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser.  This is a cult product, which I first discovered at the end of last year.  I have quite sensitive skin, which if not looked after properly can really flare up.  This cleanser is perfect as it is so gentle and it is extremely easy to use.  All you have to do is massage the Liz Earle cleansing cream into your skin, leave it to work it's magic for  2 - 3 minutes, then remove it with the muslin cloth which is provided with your cleanser, soaked in luke warm water.  The thing I love about the muslin cloth is that it also exfoliates your skin.

When I purchased my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser there was a special price in place so I only paid £9.50, however the RRP is £14.25 for 100ml, which you can purchase here.

Toner
I'll be honest here...toners aren't a product I am too fussed about.  I'm just yet to find one that really lives up to it's claims.  What I do find useful about them is they get rid of any remaining dirt and grime from the day, simply by wiping the product around my face and neck with a cotton pad.  I'm currently using a free travel size sample of the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, which I received when I bought the Hot Cloth Cleanser.  You can purchase the 200ml full size version of the product for £12.50 here.

Moisturise
I'm currently using the Vichy Chrono Active Anti-Imperfection Night Cream.  This product claims to work on your pores; unclogging them and reducing the appearence of them.  I haven't been using this product enough yet to notice any dramatic changes, but what I do like about this product so far is how fresh it smells and how quickly it sinks into my skin, not leaving me with the risk of transferring any product onto my pillow.

I bought this product from my local Boots store for around £12.00, for which you get a generous 50ml of product.

Face Mask
A couple of nights a week (usually Wednesdays and Saturdays), just before bed I will apply the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, which I love!  This is another cult product with the beauty bloggers, and for good reason!  This stuff smells good enough to eat, and you literally wake up with glowing skin the morning after applying it, and it is so simple to use.  Simply slather on a thick layer of the mask before bed on your face and neck, then that's your job done for the night!

For 100ml it costs £20.00 for this product, which seems quite steep, but considering you only need to use it twice a week, and a little goes a long way, you really get your money's worth.

To read my full thoughts on this product, read my review here...

Now this evening skin care routine has been catered around my own personal skin situation.  What works for me here may not neccessarily work for others.  However this is a good basis to work with and build upon, and find that evening routine that will help you wake up radiant and glowing in the morning, even if you don't feel it on the inside...

Guest Post - MUA trio!

Hi there! I'm Jennifer from Glamour, Above all Things and tonight is my night to tell you all about my latest purchases from MUA :) It has taken me quite a few months to come around to the idea that good quality makeup , widely used by makeup addicts such as yourselves is available for £1 a pop - I know, right?!
I eventually caved in after reading nothing but good reviews and, well, here is my verdict!

I bought these products online from Superdrug.co.uk and had to restrain myself from buying absolutely everything available, but with some careful consideration I picked out three items.

• MUA blusher in shade 1 (a light, shimmery, almost pastel pink shade)
• MUA lipstick in shade 3 (glamourous pink shade with a creamy texture)
• MUA lipstick in shade 8 (deep, shimmery red)

At first I wasn't too impressed with the blusher because of the powdery mess it seems to create every time a brush touches it, but for £1 I don't think I'm in any position to complain about extra product ... This blusher is actually lovely! The colour payoff is summery, subtle and pretty but can be built upon, leaving room for a day time look as well as night time - it is incredibly blendable and leaves a flushed hue of pink on the cheeks without looking overdone.  As you can see on the photo, it's quite pale but still gives a girly flush to the skin. I've been using it with dark eyeshadows and bright red lips. 

I'm not that impressed with the packaging- I don't like the cheap plastic case the blush is placed in and it feels quite fragile. Then again, the price of this blush does make up for that! I am an avid Benefit user and to be honest, I do think this blush resembles the flushed tone of pink you get from their Thrrrrrrrrrob blusher (which is around £22 ...) I'd definitely recommend, and for £1 I think it's worth a go!

The next product I bought was shade 3 of their lipstick range! Now, as a Dita and Marilyn lover I am a huge fan of the red lip and I sometimes venture into darker pinks, so I thought this shade would be a lovely in-between to try, and I am not sorry! Again, this product is only £1 and I am absolutely loving it!
The tube casing doesn't follow suit at all, it doesn't feel cheap or plastic-y and looks quite posh with the silver on black design.
The colour payoff with this lipstick is beautiful. It's a gorgeous deep pink colour, but together with the lipstick's consistency it gives a really creamy-textured lip colour that lasts all day! Now, I'm not one to exaggerate when it comes to makeup - I applied this lipstick yesterday at 3pm. I was still wearing bright and bold it at 10pm after 2 glasses of wine, 2 margaritas and a calzone, PLUS kissing and talking with no touch-ups. Now, I don't know about you - but that has to be worth the £1 right? The dark pink and red lips are really 'in' this season with pin-up looks being the new black, so I would definitely recommend investing in one of these!

The next lipstick is shade 8 of their range :) This lipstick isn't as excitable as shade 3 (not as creamy, not as much colour payoff - you have to apply it around 3 times to get a deep enough colour) but I am putting that down to the slightly different consistency of this lipstick to shade 3. This shade is slightly glittery, a bit harder maybe - but that is actually something that also makes this lipstick completely food, drink, kiss and chat-proof! I have tested the longevity of this lipstick's wear and it was around 5 or so hours before I needed a definite touch-up, so this lipstick is a go-go for nights out, meals out or occasions you won't have a lot of time to check your lipstick hasn't slid down your chin or dried up your lips! Again, this lipstick is £1 so the fact that it needs a bit more application than the other one doesn't mean a thing, once it's on - it's on!

I absolutely love these products! I probably won't get another blush, purely because I like blushes with different consistencies - I am definitely glad I tried theirs though! These lipsticks are definitely in my top 10, along with Clinique, Benefit, ELF etc. The colours I have bought and the colours available are beautiful shades and are definitely worth a try. I have white hair and very very pale skin so dark lipsticks aren't always a good idea for me - but these lipsticks are really worth the hype :)

I hope you've enjoyed this post! If you like what you read, please head on over to my blog for more reviews, tutorials and style tips! :)
Thankyou to Maxine for letting me ramble on and giving me the chance to write for her blog, it's been an honour!

Has anyone tried these products or have any other MUA products they like/loath?
Jennifer xo

Guest Post Required

Hey Everyone,  so we're off on our sunny hols again.  This time it's a much more family orientated one and I really can't wait to chill out and relax by the pool with a good book and spend some quality time with my family.

If any of you fancy doing a guest post on my blog then please leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you.  It can be about anything really as this is a lifestyle blog, i.e fashion post, a receipe, what you did at the weekend, whatever takes your fancy.

Loadsa love

The Girl You All Know

P.S  Dont forget to vote for me at the Dorset Little Blog Awards link to the right.
xxx