Spring Make-up - Coral Lips and Lilac Nails.

It finally feels like spring is here :) It's been noticeably sunnier recently and it's definitely warmer - full gloves, scarf and ear muffs set is no longer a necessity on my walk to and from uni! haha

With this is mind i was feeling rather springy the other morning and decided my make-up should reflect this - please welcome soft coral lips and lilac nails! Hope you like :)

Lipstick - Oh La La by Topshop
Nail Varnish - Purple Sherbet by Ciate

Garnier Moisture Match Free Samples

Just found out that Garnier are doing free samples of their new tailor made moisturisers - pick wisely though, its only one sample per person!

Click here to get yours :)

Motel Wishlist

There is so much i want from Motel at the moment - none of which i can actually afford! I'm in love with the Fiji print, what do you guys think? 

Clarissa Strappy Dress in Yellow Fiji Print

Jodie Cropped Skinny Jean in Yellow Fiji Print

Catalina Off Shoulder Skater Dress in Black & Blue

Twix Strapless Playsuit in Black Fiji Print

OOTD - Mint & Monochrome

Last night i went for a lovely pub dinner with my boyfriend, this is what i wore...

Top - Asos (Last Summer) // Skirt - H&M // Topshop Studded Flats // Topshop Nails in Minted

I had chicken enchiladas with the biggest, most delicious potato wedges ever, and a little side salad, and for dessert we shared a carmel, chocolate and vanilla sundae, topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, crunchy caramel pieces and a flake! Mmmm......

Product Warning - OXY 'On The Spot'

*USE WITH CAUTION*

Oxy On the Spot is a cream with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide - apparently quite a high level for a 'non-over-the-counter' product. It is sold as a spot treatment and works by drying the skin in order to prevent the spot from coming to a head, or helping it heal quicker. I've used it before on the odd spot now and again and it's done a pretty good job of making them disappear.

A couple of weeks ago I broke out pretty badly on my right cheek and my chin. I'm pretty sure it was due to my Garnier Cleansing Lotion which I reviewed in my previous post (here).

Sunday (10th March) Evening

- I noticed my skin was starting to brake out. I was planning to see my boyfriend on Friday (15th), and didn't exactly fancy greeting him as a spotty mess, so i dug my oxy on the spot out of my bathroom and proceeded to apply it to my spotty areas.

Monday & Tuesday night

- I applied it again and noticed the spots were fading well as time progressed.

Wednesday morning 

- I was happy to see that my spots had gone. 

Wednesday afternoon

- I noticed that my skin was feeling particularly tight and looked a little dry under my make-up. I knew that this product worked by drying the skin so didn't think too much of it. 

Wednesday night 

- I used a thicker moisturizer than i normally would to combat the dryness. 

Thursday morning 

- My skin was worse - it was very dry and sore, and even though I moisturized really well it was flaky causing my foundation to cling to it. It got dryer as the morning progressed meaning that by the afternoon i had two large (very ugly) flaky patches on my cheek and chin. I was horrified. That night I applied a really thick coat of softening moisturizer and hoped for the best.

Friday morning 

- My skin was no better. I gently exfoliated and moisturized well, which eliminated the flakes for a short while but my skin was still very red and sore and even stung when I put foundation on it. As soon as i arrived at my boyfriend's, i took my make-up off because it was making my skin feel worse. I applied a large amount of moisturiser and kept on reapplying it throughout the afternoon which did seem to cause the flakiness to subside. 

Friday evening 

- Although not particularly dry, my skin was very sore and so red in places that it showed through two coats of a medium coverage foundation, which stung quite badly as i was applying it while getting ready to go out.

Saturday & Sunday 

- My skin was even worse over the weekend. I kept it make-up free, and was applying moisturiser morning, noon and night but my skin continued to be dry and flaky, and not just a little, i'm talking large visible flakes all over my cheek and chin. It was constantly sore and tight feeling and very red. You could even see a visible border between where i'd applied the cream and where I hadn't. To be honest it looked and felt like a burn. It was absolutely horrible. I even applied savlon on saturday night to try to speed up the healing process.

Luckily, my skin finally managed to heal itself. By Monday morning it was starting to get better, but it wasn't until Wednesday (20th) morning that my skin was fully healed and the redness had gone down.

Looking back I wish i'd left my skin spotty - they'd have probably come to a head and began to heal by friday and at least I could've covered them using make-up while they were healing. Instead i had to put up with horrifically sore, red and flaky skin which took a whole week to heal.

However, despite the problems it caused me, i would use this cream again, just with great caution! I would only use it on specific spots instead of large areas of broken out skin, and I wouldn't apply it more than 2 nights in a row. I would recommend any of you that are using it to do the same :)

Let me know if any of you guys have had trouble with this or any other products!

Garnier Fresh Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Lotion Review

I picked this up at the end of February since i was looking for a cream cleanser. I wrote about it briefly in 'this haul' after using it for about a week. I loved it at first - it smelt gorgeous and was great at removing my make-up. I'd use it every night on a cotton pad after removing the majority using a face wipe, and it left my skin feeling so clean and really soft and fresh. It was all going swimmingly until the end of the second week of use, when i noticed my skin started to break out really badly. I rarely get spots, unless it's 'ladies' week', but it wasn't and this was the only recent variable to my skin routine, plus i've used it again since then only to have the same effect. It was a really bad breakout which resulted in me having to employ the use of a spot cream which ended up only adding to my skin problems (post all about that up tomorrow!). 

I think it only affected me the way it did because my skin is very spot prone when it comes to things left on it - if i used it in future, i would wash it off before bed. 

Topshop Make-up - Blush Stick in Acting up - Review & Swatches

I spotted this when shopping in my local Topshop the other day (featured in my previous haul post - here), and was probably a lot more excited about it than i naturally should've been. It's a twist-up stick of a very bright, coral-toned-orange, cream blush - so bright that it put me off at first. However, once tested, i found that i could easily blend it out to a lovely peachy colour. It reminds me of the Nars multiple sticks, and although it's not marketed as more than a blush, i'm sure it would do no harm to use it on the lips, and eyes if you wanted. It was this 'multiple' quality that attracted me to it; I'm going holiday-ing and traveling quite a bit over summer and i figured this lovely little product will save me space, doubling up as a blush and a lipstick. I think the peachy orange tone will look perfect with a tan too! 

I've been using it quite a bit since i bought it and i find that the peachy coraly colour (so technical) is really flattering on my skin tone. It's super quick to apply and blends easily, sinking into the skin, giving a very natural look. It also blends onto the lips fairly easily too, giving a very subtle colour. The only negative I would say i have noticed so far is it's lack of staying power - it looks lovely for the first hour or so but then it just seems to disappear, so definitely a product that would need to be kept handy for touch-ups now and again.

The product retails for £10 which i think is quite reasonable since you only need a very small amount each time, and it doubles up as a lipstick. Buy here.

Topshop also sell a bright pink version of this product called Sneakpeak for the same price, available here.

Collective Haul - Topshop, Primark & The Body Shop

Black & White Crop Tops - £8 each // Coral Flats - £16  // Purple Skater Skirt - £16  // Cream Blush Stick - £10

Spike Shoulder Tank - £5 // Cropped Leggings - £3 // Beach Playsuit - £7 // Bikini Bottoms - £4 // Lace Crop Top - £4

Aloe Vera Toner - £8 // Seaweed Cleansing Wash - £8 // Seaweed Clay Mask - £12

Let's Get Fit! My April Fitness Regime - Blogilates

Every year, around late spring time, i always get the urge to get fit - not lose weight, just tone up and improve my stamina and strength. This year's no different, especially now that i'm faced with the prospect of revealing my bikini bod to a beach-full of people in June. 

I first discovered Blogilates, a YouTube channel run by pilates insrtuctor Cassey Ho, around this time last year. I loved it instantly - she's so funny and she always sets her workouts to current, poppy music - it really makes working out enjoyable. Also, her videos are mostly about building muscle tone and strength rather than cardio, which is perfect for me. 

I've been subscribed to her channel since last year but (i hate to admit it) not been doing, or even watching the videos, until this last week. During one of them she mentioned a challenge she's running over April - to do all of her 127 videos in 30 days. She's created a calender that, once signed up to her newsletter, you can download and print off. So, i'm going to be trying that and seeing how many days i can do it for before i literally can't move! I'll let you know how it goes! Today i did arms, back and legs and i think i've already pulled my calves and shoulders.