Back to Blogging & A Tiny Beauty Wishlist

Hello!

I've been absent for a while, but today I am back blogging! I really started to miss just sitting down at my desk and typing a review or a wishlist, reading others blogs and replying to posts, so today I am back on the scene. For some reason I am really drawn to blogging, I just love the fact I can talk to a lot of people that have the same interests as me and I can share my views on various products/clothing as many of my own friends are really not that interested in the latest fragrance release or the latest seasons collections.

I thought I'd ease myself back into blogging by sharing a wishlist of mine. It's not too big, but there's some things on here that I'm really going to have to save up for (i.e. all of it). 

Marc Jacobs Honey - £38.50 (30ml)
YSL Baby Doll Kiss and Blush - £27
Maybelline Colour Tattoo - £4.99

Marc Jacobs Honey - I've had my eye on Marc Jacobs' fragrances for so long now, but I think this is the one I want. It just smells so lovely, my kind of fragrance! Top notes: pear, mandarin. Heart notes: orange blossom, peach nectar, apricot, honeysuckle. Base notes: honey, vanilla, smooth woods. 

YSL Baby Doll Kiss and Blush - I've been wanting one of these since I saw a review on Lily Melroses' beauty blog (see post here) as I thought they just looked absolutely stunning. Although I wouldn't use it as a blush (I have a lot of redness on my cheeks so blush generally looks awful), I would love it as a lip product. When these came into store, I couldn't believe how pretty they looked. I really like the shade Corail Affranchi, it's just so gorgeous. Determined to get my hands on one of these!

Maybelline Colour Tattoo - after finally picking up one of these bad boys in Pink Gold and completely falling in love, I really want to get one in the famed shade On and On Bronze. I am very much a neutral eyeshadow kinda girl so this seems perfect for me. They really do last all day too!

Not much of a wishlist really but it will take me time to save for the fragrance and the YSL lippy! Although I will most likely go and grab a Colour Tattoo the next time I'm in town!

Speak soon, Ellie x

First Impression: REN Skincare Hot Cloth Cleanser*

Yesterday I picked up InStyle as I fancied a read, to be honest the freebie caught my eye the most. A REN sample size Hot Cloth Cleanser and cloth. 

Even though I've only used this a few times, I'm impressed. I much prefer it to my current cleanser, and I'm almost tempted to have a little spend on REN. This cleanser doesn't upset my skin and removes my make-up (even eye make-up) and leaves me with lovely fresh feeling skin which isn't dry or tight. I don't feel like I need to immediately reach for my moisturiser after, which is a lovely feeling. It didn't aggravate the redness in my skin either, which is heaven sent. So done with redness, honestly. 

I am very impressed with this cleanser, and I may purchase a full size bottle. I recommend it already, I've even got my mum trying it. If you don't want to spend £16 before trying it, pick up an InStyle magazine whilst you can!

REN Hot Cloth Cleanser - £16, 150ml

Sleek Pout Polish - Electro Peach

Hello!

A few weeks ago I bought a couple of Sleek bits'n'bobs whilst Superdrug had a 3-for-2 offer on. I absolutely adore Sleek, and couldn't wait to try them as I'd read so many positive reviews.
This is actually my second attempt at a review, as I typed up a review on this a few days after I bought it, and let's say it was a little negative. 

After trying this out a few more times, I decided my first review was a little too harsh. I did feel disappointed at first, but now I think I have a little gem in my make-up bag and I'm happy enough with it. With some products it takes
me a while to "understand" them, if you know what I mean.

ABOUT
"Electro Peach is a coral tinted lip conditioning balm that nourishes whilst providing a subtle hint of colour and a natural sheen. Formulated with SPF 15 and natural oils such as almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E, keeping lips protected and moisture locked in." - Sleek
A fair and accurate description, I would say! These little buttery balms come in 9 different colours, one to suit everybody! I'm impressed with the fact they have included different tones of pinks too, to cater for all skin tones.

CONS
When I first bought this product, I was very disappointed. The first time I tried it, my lips literally ate it and the colour was gone within minutes. However, since using a brush to apply (and not my fingers), I think wear time has been improved slightly. It still doesn't last at all after eating or drinking, and does require a lot of touch-ups!
I probably wouldn't recommend the product if you wanted an easily reapplicated lip product, as with this it's either use your finger and have a stained finger, or carry a lip brush with you everywhere. I personally find lip brushes awkward "on the go" items.
The packaging also isn't your everyday lip product packaging. It's in a plastic case, very similar to Vaseline. If you're a person who prefers tubes for their lip products, again, this isn't for you.

PROS
The colour is absolutely beautiful, a lovely (and very pigmented) pink-peach. In the tin it looks almost a neon red-orange. It's just so pretty and summery, a perfect pop of colour.
It contains nourishing ingredients and SPF! I am always drawn to products that have nice natural ingredients. I always find they have the best moisturising properties! And SPF is always important, people.

Like I just mentioned, this product is very moisturising. My lips are very fussy when it comes to lip products, so it's a mega bonus that my lips like this.

Super creepy up-close lip shot!

THE BOTTOM LINE
I like it. I like it a lot. I would only recommend this if you don't have a problem with taking a lip brush around with you, as for me, that's the main thing. Reapplication is a bit of a pain. Ah, I'm so on the fence with this one as I really like the colour, moisturising properties... But I don't like the fact it's not easy when you're on-the-go.

Have you tried a Pout Polish, or reviewed one? I'd love to hear what you guys think of them!

SHOP THE POST
Sleek Pout Polish in Electro Peach - £4.49

My Current Skincare Routine - Morning & Night!

Hello!

Recently I've built up more of a skincare routine rather than just face wash and E45. I've decided to actually start using proper skincare products like cleanser and toner, and my skin is a lot happier and clearer than it has been for a while! Although right now, I do have a couple of spots as I had about 3 takeaways last week, oops! I really can't resist pizza or McDonald's. 

MORNING ROUTINE

The Products
Cleanser - Zuri Chapter Two Creme Cleanser
Toner - L'Oreal Velvety Toner
Moisturiser - E45

In the morning, I don't need to remove any excess make-up (unless I've accidentally fallen asleep with make-up on, yuck) so I just cleanse my skin to remove excess oils and to refresh my skin. If I'm honest, I'm not 100% about this cleanser. It seems to do the job and doesn't upset my skin but I really hate the texture of it, I will definitely be changing cleanser when I run out.
I then apply my toner with a cotton pad. Again, I'm not 100% on this toner, and I'm slightly disappointed seeing as it's by L'Oreal. I don't particularly like the texture and it seems to take forever to "dry". By "dry", I mean it kind of feels sticky on my skin until I apply moisturiser, which feels a bit weird to me.
Finally, I finish off by patting E45 all over my face. I absolutely adore E45 and I will continue using it probably forever.

EVENING ROUTINE

The Products
Face wipes - Superdrug Cleansing Facial Wipes
Cleanser - Zuri Chapter Two Creme Cleanser
Face wash - Clean & Clear Morning Energy Skin Brightening Scrub
Mask - Superdrug Hydrating Face Mask
Toner - L'Oreal Velvety Toner
Sudocrem
Coconut oil - Superdrug Coconut Oil

I start off by getting a face wipe and wiping off the first traces of make-up. Face wipes visibly remove make-up, however if you use a cleanser you can see it really doesn't do that good of a job in removing it! I like face wipes to get rid of more stubborn make-up, such as mascara and eyeliner.
I then cleanse, and wipe off the cleanser with a hot cloth.
When I'm in the shower, I like to use a gentle exfoliating face wash just to help buff off any dead skin cells. I find if I don't use a gentle exfoliator, my skins dry patches show up so much when applying make-up. I really like this face wash too as I really do think it brightens up my skin, I like using it on those mornings where I just haven't had enough sleep.

I use this face mask every 3 days. It's a moisturising face mask which just leaves my skin feeling super soft and lovely. It looks and feels a bit like a moisturiser, and not like a mask at all. I like to smooth it around my face and just leave it for around 10 minutes before wash it off with a hot cloth.

Again I tone with L'Oreal using a cotton pad!
After toning, I dab on a little bit of Sudocrem onto areas I feel need some treatment, such as spots or redder-than-usual patches.
I recently bought this tub of coconut oil from Superdrug and I love it so, so much. It smells beautiful, and a little goes a really long way. It completely softens up my skin and leaves it feeling gorgeous. 

SHOP THE POST
Superdrug Cleansing Facial Wipes - 99p - Superdrug
Zuri Chapter Two Creme Cleanser - £2.99 - Fragrance Direct
Clean & Clean Morning Energy Skin Brightening Scrub - £3.99 - Superdrug
Superdrug Hydrating Face Mask - £2.59 - Superdrug
L'Oreal Velvety Toner - £2.50 - Fragrance Direct
Superdrug Coconut Oil - £2.29 - Superdrug
E45 - £4.39 - Superdrug

Sudocrem - £2.55 - Superdrug

Why I've Been Absent...

Hello!

So if you follow me you'll notice I've barely been posting. I promise I haven't just gone AWOL for the sake of it, I've been having a bit of a tough time at the moment. I thought I'd right a little post on it, not just to make myself feel better about not blogging but also just give you a little info on why I've not been posting. 

I've been finding the last few weeks, or since I recovered from tonsillitis really, that my life has been a lot more stressful. From that illness, I missed a lot of college, time that I really needed to get my work finished. Last Wednesday I had my final deadline at college, and missed it. I just felt so stressed and pressured about the whole day, especially as I knew some of my work wasn't up to standard, I ended up having a panic attack and just not really feeling okay to leave the house. I do suffer with anxiety, I'll do a post on that sometime in the future.

As well as college playing on my mind, I'm also mega stressed about my future. To cut a long story short, I'm a bit of a failure. I completely messed up my GCSE's (I only have 2, maths and English) and I'm very confused as to what I want to do with my life. I've never known what I've wanted, and I chop and change all the time.
Now I'm finishing college for the final time, I need to find a job. Except there seems to be nothing suitable for me that's full-time. 

It doesn't sound like a lot when writing about it, but it's really been getting me down recently and it's kind of made me really unmotivated to blog. I have ideas, just not the "energy" to write them.

In better news, however, I have applied for an apprenticeship and I've applied for a couple more full-time jobs, which is making me feel a little better! 

After Friday, I have the next 2 weeks to do nothing at all really so I'm determined to get my blogging sparkle back again.

So I'd like to apologise for being a bad blogger, and I hope to speak to more of you again very soon!

A Pricey Wishlist

Hello!

I usually have a shopping list of general items or cheaper things, such as skincare or a new top for example. However I've had a separate wishlist for a while now that I thought I'd share! It's coloured black in my notes, mainly because if I buy any of things on it I'd be living off nothing but 11p instant noodles for the next month! However, I am saving up for these items - some of them I've been wanting for years! A couple of things on here won't cost me too much, but are on this list anyway :)

NARS - in my wishlist I've listed this as "item of NARS" mainly because when I do finally make my first purchase, I'll probably want something different to what I've written down! Right now though, I'd love the lip gloss in Orgasm, which is described as a "peachy pink with shimmer". I've had my eye on it for so long now! Such a cheeky name too, haha!

MAC - again, my first purchase from MAC could be totally different from what I want now, so is also listed as "item of MAC". Right now, I would definitely go for a lipstick. What could be better than owning one of those little iconic bullets? I would probably go for Morange, as I'm loving orange lipsticks right now! 

Mulberry - my love for Mulberry first stemmed from when I read Marie Claire on a plane around 4 years ago. There was a big advertisement, showing off the Alexa satchel. I really, really wanted the Alexa satchel (obviously as a 14 year old that was never going to happen) and since then I've moved on from my love for the Alexa and placed it onto the Bayswater Tote. I would absolutely adore to have this bag, although the price is c-razy! I would also get a purse to go with it, my personal choice would be the Daria French Purse! 

Sandals - being totally in love with this type of shoe really isn't helping me save towards my driving test. I'm so obsessed with this style, and I'm not really sure why! I've been hunting for a while for some really love evening shoes, I found some pretty good contenders in New Look, however having a designer pair would be lovely for special occasions. These Jasper Conran sandals are gorgeous, I adore the gold detailing on the toe area! Such a decent price (and currently on sale too), I may treat myself this coming payday!

Dress - I've wanted a mid-length bodycon dress for so long, and I think looks so gorgeous! I love the cut-out at the front, anything cut-out or mesh I'm all over recently. This isn't too pricey as it's from ASOS, but it's still over my usual budget hence why it's on this wishlist! I love bodycon dresses on me as I have a curvy figure, I can't get enough of them at the moment. Although with bodycons, I do find it important for the material to be fairly thick so it doesn't cling in the wrong places!

Gucci Guilty - I made the mistake of not buying this with my birthday money, and now I can't afford it! When I tried this on in Boots I just thought it had such a beautiful fragrance, and really suited me. I struggle with perfumes as I'm quite fussy, however this is just perfect. I can't wait to buy this and pop it onto my dresser, it will be a staple perfume! 

NARS Lip Gloss in Orgasm - £18.50
MAC Lipstick in Morange - £15

Mulberry Bayswater Double Zip Tote - £1500
Daria French Purse - £275
Jasper Conran Sandals - £59 (currently in sale for £41.30!)

ASOS Pencil Dress - £48

Gucci Guilty - £45

So there's my pricey wishlist! A lot of items I will be buying very soon, however some items (I'm looking at you, Mulberry) will have to wait a very long time indeed. Ah, handbag dreaming!

What's on your pricey wishlist?

May Favourites

Hello!

I cannot believe it's the end of May already. 2014 is going pretty fast which does scare me! By the end of next month I'll be free from college, jobless (I'm only a temp) and hopefully doing my driving test. I think June will be a bittersweet one, I'm not entirely looking forward to it! 

This month I've managed to pile up a bunch of favourite beauty products! I've found some real good-un's that I'm planning on keeping around for a while! At the bottom of this post I've also written a little bit about my non-beauty favourites.

John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner
My hair is incredibly damaged. To the point where I pretty much need to chop of around 2-3 inches to get it "happy" again, but I'm not about to rush off to the hairdressers to get that done. A while ago I decided to just buy a few sets of these John Frieda Full Repair shampoos and conditioners and hope they would help my hair, and help they did! My hair is now very shiny, more healthy looking and my ends are softer! Of course it can't repair split ends, but it definitely helps the appearance of them. I adore this shampoo and conditioner!

Argan Oil
I picked this up a while ago from Savers, it was on offer and caught my eye. However I've only started using it within the last month. I've really been loving this oil as it makes the ends of my hair feel very soft and helps smooth it out (as I have very frizzy hair), I've also been lightly smoothing the remaining oil left on my hands over the rest of my hair which helps give it more shine and smooth down a bit of frizz. Hair oil does wonders!

Fake Naked 3 Palette

Yep, you heard me! Months and months ago I ordered this fake Naked 3 palette from eBay as I was desperate to get the palette, however I just couldn't justify spending nearly £40 on myself for one eyeshadow palette. After ordering this, the Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 came out, which in terms of pigmentation, looks a lot better than mine. However I am very happy with this palette, I'm really enjoying using pink-toned shadows at the moment, I've been using Burnout, Trick or Liar pretty much everyday! 

Body Shop Honey Bronzer
This seems to have taken over the blogging world! I am so glad I bought this bronzer, it has completely changed the way I apply my makeup and I've never felt so good wearing makeup. It gives me a really nice warm and healthy complexion, I just can't get enough! I will definitely be repurchasing when this runs out. 

B. Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Raspberry Coulis
My perfect everyday gloss, I literally cannot go a day without wearing it. It applies so nicely and gives my lips a bit of subtle colour. I think it's definitely a shade that will come up differently on different skin tones, etc, on me it's very natural and gives me just a tiny bit of colour. Perfect for work or everyday! 

Real Techniques Brushes: Core Collection, Eye Starter Kit & Retractable Kabuki
If you read my full review on these brushes, then you will know I only used a couple of the brushes when I first bought these, I have now found a use for all of them! It seems a bit crazy using so many brushes, but I cannot tell you how much different, and better, my make-up looks for it! They may seem pricey, but it's worth it!

Non-Beauty Favourites
I've been absolutely loving Iggy Azalea this month, I'm still to pick up her new album though! Rosé wine has been a bit too prominent in my life recently, oops. Die Antwoord released their new song from their new album Donker Mag, with a bit of a strange video - gotta love Yolandi though! I've basically lived in flat jelly shoes this month, although they broke (oops) so I've upgraded to a heeled pair! 

I've really enjoyed May. Although I've been poorly, we've had some cracking weather in Britain (though we've returned to rain just recently), I've had some good parties and nights out, lots of tasty foods as there's so many birthdays in May and some lovely times with my friends and family. 

How was your May? What favourites do you have for this month?