My Nightly Skincare Routine - It's Simple!

Recently i noticed a theme in my evening skincare routine, that id somehow never seen before - Simple. 

Something that I really love about the Simple products is the lack of alcohol, oils, perfume and colours. I have very sensitive, easily irritated skin, which can often end up feeling dry and sore after using some skincare brands. However, I love knowing that I can use Simple's products without having to worry about upsetting my skin. Another great point is that it's really affordable too! 

Cleansing Wipes, Hydrating Moisturiser, Eye Make-up Remover, Refreshing Face Wash

*Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes*

These wipes have been a staple in my nightly skincare routine ever since i started wearing make-up. I have tried others but I always go back to these. The wipes themselves are super soft and thick and they stay wet, unlike a lot of other brands which i find sometimes dry up really quickly. 

They gently cleanse my skin and remove my make-up really well, even my waterproof mascara. They leave my skin feeling super soft - not too oily nor dry and irritated. They are just perfect.

I always start my routine with these in order to remove the majority of my make-up. (Available here)

*Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel*

I've got to admit, i didn't know if simple even still made this! I bought this product years and years ago, i honestly dread to think how old it is, and i know i probably shouldn't be using it, but i really have just fallen back in love with it over the past few months. I never used to bother with a cleanser but decided I should probably use one so started using this again since i had it lying around at home. The gel formula is really light and produces a nice lather. It also has a really nice smell - nothing it particular it just somehow smells really clean and fresh. 

I use this after the wipes to give my skin a deep cleanse and remove any last traces of make-up. (Available here)

*Simple Eye Make-up Remover*

This is another staple product of mine. It is an absolute champ at removing waterproof mascara and is really gentle on my eyes. I just dab a bit onto a cotton wool pad and gently sweep it across my eyes, to remove any traces of eye make-up that may have been missed by the wipes and loosened by the face wash.  (Available here)

*Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser* 

Lastly, I use the moisturiser to give my skin a good burst of hydration overnight. I really like it and actually find it quite thick and luxurious considering it's supposed to be 'light'. Although, i think that's because I only ever normally use extremely thin, light moisturisers since anything too think can worsen my oily skin. I find this to be just right, thick enough without feeling heavy, and i also think it's best to have a thicker cream at night anyway. (Available here)

I will sometimes use these products in the morning too. On days when I don't intend to wear any make-up I'll just use the cleanser and the moisturiser. However, for most mornings, pre-make-up, I use two different products which i'll do a separate post on over the next week or so, so keep an eye out for that!

What do you like to use to remove your make-up before bed? Have you tired any of these simple products and what do you think of them? 

OOTD - Too Cold!

I wore this on Friday to go into town and meet my boyfriend off his train. Being silly, i thought it looked fairly sunny (so perhaps warm) outside so thought this outfit would be sufficient. It was not. I was absolutely frozen! More appropriate updates to it would be a thermal top layered underneath the grey one, ear muffs, gloves and a scarf. Oh and thick, fluffy socks under my boots.
I paired it with (as always) my little charity shop bag which you can see patiently sitting on my desk in the background.

Camo Jacket - Charity Shop
Grey Hoody - Topman (here)
Heavyweight Black Leggings - Topshop (here)
Grey Oversized Tee - Topshop (here)
Boots - Charity Shop
Nail Polish - Beth's Blue (Models Own) (here)
Lipstick - Beguiled by Topshop
Gold Stag Locket - Present from Boyfriend

Weekly Wish - Hand Cream

I've been looking out for a hand cream recently since my hands keep feeling really dry and sore - i think it must be this weather! Also, i know i'm only 20, but i do feel like it's time for me to start taking good care of my hands. I already feel like they resemble old lady hands and not taking care of them isn't going to make them look any younger!

I saw this Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Hand Cream (available here) last sunday on Rhiannon's (fashionrocksmysocks) blog in her 'Week in Photo's No.39' post, and it's been hanging around in it's own little tab ever since. I think it looks really cute and it's nice that they do the mini versions to try out. However i do think the price (£8) is still a little steep for such tiny products.

Another hand cream that caught my eye is The Body Shop's Vitamin E Hand Cream (available here) which also promises to condition nails and soften cuticles - that's 3 jobs done in 1! This made me happy because, being very lazy, I am a lover of any product that does more than one thing at once. I do think that £8 is still a little steep for 75ml of product BUT there is 40% off everything online and instore at the Body Shop right now which would re-price this little lovely at the much more agreeable price of £4.80 - perfect!

Models Own - Beth's Blue

I always tend to wear dark nail varnishes in winter and save pastels for spring/summer time, but recently i've seen a lot of gurus such as zoella and fashionrocksmysocks sporting pastel blues or purples along with their think coats and wooly scarves, and i think it looks great. The pastel nails just add a lift to the outfit and can stop dark coloured wintery clothes looking too drab.

So tonight I decided to paint my nails with Beth's Blue, a lovely blue grey with lilacy undertones, for a change. It looked lovely at first, and i was really pleased with it, but then it started to bubble horribly - now it looks awful! Why do so many of my nail polishes do this as they dry? Its so frustrating!

(Buy here)

OOTN - Girls Night Out

Went out for cocktails with the girls the other night, this is what I wore:

Cropped Bralet - Boohoo
Crushed Velvet Skirt - Urban Outfitters
Velvet Block Heel Shoes - New Look

I wore this with my leather jacket and my trusty charity shop bag.

FOTD | Beguiled by Topshop

This winter I finally decided that it was time for me to try out the plummy/vampy lip trend. I knew i wanted a Topshop lipstick because I find that, for the price, they're pretty good quality and always seem to last really well on my lips. I had a small dilemma between Beguiled and Wicked, which was part of their limited edition "Dark Side of Nude" Collection (the eyeshadows of which are still available, and absolutely gorgeous). I went for Beguiled in the end though because i found it was more pinky/magenta toned than Wicked, and i always find pinky tones easier to work with. It looks more pink in the photos above than it does in reality - i'd describe it as a warm red wine colour with a pink undertone.

I picked it up from the Nottingham Topshop store around the start of December and have practically worn it at every chance since. I am in love with the colour, especially how (as shown in the swatch) you can blend it out to give your lips a stain, or build it up to achieve a really bold, statement lip, making it wearable for both day and night. I always make sure to build it up slowly using a small lip brush (i use the detailer brush from the Real Techniques Core Collection) in order to achieve a crisp, neat finish.

I'd definitely recommend Beguiled for anyone who wants a plummy dark lip without looking too vampy.

Snow Boots! :D

Bought these gorgeous furry boots from Brantano a couple of years ago and i absolutely love them <3 they're so warm and cosy and just perfect for venturing out in this weather!

Has anyone else been outside today? What have you been wearing to keep warm? :)

Weekly Wish

So I thought it might be nice to do a small post about one thing each week that i'm currently coveting. This week, after looking through Topshop's 'New In' it would definitely be these jim jams. I have a real love for cute pajamas and i just think these are so simple yet adorable. They look really comfy too!

'Moon and Back' Tee and Short - £22

CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share

Such a beautiful uplifting song <3

(Late) New Years Resolutions. 2013.

Like most people, i always make New Years Resolutions but rarely stick to them. I do still like to make them though. I think it's always important to try to better yourself and aim for certain things. However, i think it's also important to remember to keep your goals realistic. If you make them unachievable you will only end up stressing yourself out and feeling disappointed.
So here are my resolutions for 2013 (even if i am two weeks late).

 *Drink More Water*

I'm definitely with Zoella on this one - I always feel so much better when I make the effort to drink more water. And my skin definitely benefits from it too. I always take a bottle of water to Uni with me but often don't finish it even though it's only 75cl. Not drinking enough also results in me having terrible headaches every day which make me feel tired and fed up.

*Eat More. But Healthily*

Since starting Uni in September I've lost weight. Some girls might think that's brilliant but for me it's terrible news. I was underweight before starting (thanks to my super fast metabolism) and I always struggle to keep weight on, let alone put more one. I've been the same weight for about the past 5 years!  So losing some was really not what I wanted. It's just hard at uni, having the motivation and the energy to cook anything substantial as well as fitting three meals a day around my awkward timetable - i often start at lunchtime and once a week I'm in till 9 making having any sort of proper dinner impossible. This term (and for the rest of the year) I'm determined to push myself to eat proper meals regularly in order to try and regain the weight that i've lost. However, i need to make sure I do it healthily - i can't just start living off Dominos and McDonalds because it won't do my insides any good and it'll only leave me feeling sluggish and lethargic. This is not going well so far - i've had two huge McDonalds meals in the past 5 days.

*Go To Bed Earlier*

When i lived at home it was unusual for me to stay up very late, now i'm at Uni though its so easy to lose track of time (not even doing anything important) and end up not going to bed till 1/2 in the morning. It's really not doing me any favors - i'm tired all the time and find it so hard to get up in the morning before about half 10. I really need to get my body clock back in order. I need to start going to bed around 11, especially on nights when i have Uni the next day! I'm hoping it'll also allow me to get up earlier in order to take advantage of the whole day to get stuff done. Which leads me nicely on to my next resolution.....

*Stop Leaving Things Until The Last Minute*

I am the biggest procrastinator I know. I'm so easily distracted as well. Everything I do gets left till the last minute - from packing before going away, to getting my uni work done. I really need to stop doing it because it frustrates me so much and only causes me way more stress in the long run. From now on i'm going to push myself to be more productive with my time and not get so easily distracted. When I get given work next semester I'm gonna start it straight away instead of leaving it until a week before the deadline!

*Be More Selfish*

This might sound like I strange resolution, and just to clear things up I don't mean being selfish as in not being generous and kind and helpful, i just mean i feel like i need to look out for myself more often. I'm often way too tolerant with people, and too nice and never stand up for myself which ends up meaning people just take advantage of me and walk all over me and i'm always too shy, too scared and too nice to say anything. It's got to the point where i really need to stop taking shit from people because it just makes me feel so unhappy. I need to start doing more for myself, looking out for myself, and most importantly standing up for myself! I need to stop people taking advantage of me and I want to find nicer people to surround myself with. People who make me happy, instead of making me feel drained and bad about myself. I also wanna focus on doing the stuff I want to do. I feel like I need to have some new focuses this year as what I've given all my focus and efforts to over the past year could unfortunately disappear at any moment. This year I wanna be able to make myself happy instead of relying on someone else to it. Something that, sadly, i haven't been able to do for the past 3 years. I seem to have forgotten how to. Hopefully this will result in me feeling more positive and happy.