My Current Skincare Routine

When it comes to skin care for me personally the simpler and less products the better. I'm forever wanting to try new products, but find if you end up having a cream that tackles every problem going then the build of products in fact make your skin feel worse. So here is a little look at what I use on a daily basics and a few things I reach for when my skin is not at its finest and weekly masks. 

First step in my morning skin care routine is to cleanse my face using the infamous Liz Earle Cleanse and polish. I apply this to my face dry and massage in circular motions, I then use a clean muslin cloth or flannel, which I soak in hot water and then wring out to polish off the cleanser. This is a cult product and a well loved cleanser in the beauty blogosphere. I use this as part of my evening skin care routine once I  have removed my makeup too. 

Next step I apply moisturiser, I'm currently using Simple's Kind to Skin Hydrating Light moisturiser. This is a great basic moisturiser, but I am looking to try something different or repurchase the Origins Ginzing Moisturiser. Any suggestions? 

Before applying makeup I also use an eye cream or serum at the moment I am using a couple from Simple. The Soothing Eye Balm and the Revitalising eye roll on. I allow these to sink into the skin before applying my makeup. These products both aim to awaken tired eyes, which is just what I need with a 6am wake up call. The light textures are perfect for under the eye, meaning that makeup does not glide off or crease. 

For evening skin care I begin by removing my makeup, I've recently run out of Bioderma, so whilst im figuring out how to repurchase my next lot I'm using another product by Simple to do the job for now. Next I repeat the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. 

Once a week I like to use a face mask, my favourite is Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask from Lush. The combination of blueberries, soothing chamomile, Irish moss and the gentle cleansing action of calamine, this works wonders on my skin when I'm wanting to feel fresh faced after a makeup day. I apply a thin layer of this all over my face avoiding my eye area and leave for fifteen minutes, I then use my hand to move over my face and remove the excess of the mask. Then with a clean flannel I remove the face mask. I have tried a couple of the face masks from Lush, but I find myself returning to this one. I have sensitive skin and for once this works fine with my skin .

When my face is in need of extra hydration I like to use an over night mask. I reach for my Origins Drink up Intensive overnight mask. I massage this into clean skin before bed. This mask contains plant glycerin, hyaluronic acid and apricot kernel oil which help to rehydrate the skin. 

My holy grail skin care item to keep my skin clear is another blogger favourite, La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. I apply a thin layer of this all over my face, avoiding the eye area. This product aims to clear skin of imperfections, reduce redness and unclog pores. I find when I use this religiously each night my skin is very clear. I have recently picked up the Effaclar Duo [+] to see if it has any other results. 

Another item which could be claimed as skin care is actually a part of my everyday makeup this is the Yves Saint Lauren BB cream. I wear a small amount of this as my base this gives me light coverage and allows my skin to breath on a day to day basis. 

This is a skin care routine which works for me, but I sometimes chop and change a few things. 

Any holy grail skin care items you think I should try? 

Thanks for reading, 

Rhiannon 

x

A Little London Haul

So last weekend I went to London with my Boyfriend (a post I will be posting soon), and when in London of course you have to do a little bit of shopping. So here are a few things I picked up.. 

So I've seen a few beauty bloggers talking about this range by Loreal. The Collection Privee are the formula of the Colour Riche lipsticks and they are a six nude shades which are matched to six of Loreal's spokespersons complexion. I picked up Cheryl's Nude. I'm guessing the aim of this is to see which spokespersons complexion is most similar to yours and then this shade will be the most suited to you... However, I have gone completely against this. As you may or may not know I have a very fair complexion and dark brown hair, a far cry from Cheryl's olive toned skin, but I thought I would give this a go anyway. I have not had the chance to use this properly yet, however from what I have it is a very moisturising and quite sheer coverage but build-able. It has golden shimmer to it and I think it will be a perfect nude lip to accompany a dramatic smokey eye on a night out. The packaging of lipstick is something I love making it look very high end but with a £8 affordable price tag! 

When I come across a Mac counter I always walk in and seem to end up with my hand covered in Lipstick swatches and umming and arring which one to choose. So I picked up this beautiful Cremesheen Lipstick in the shade 'Hot Gossip'. This is a dusky pink with a hint of plum, beautifully moisturising and builds up to a beautiful natural colour. As the name cremesheen suggests it does have a sheen to the lips but it doesn't leave a sticky finish. 

Another little Mac purchase from Selfridges is there Studio Finish Concealer and mine is in the colour NW15. I've been thinking about where to get my next under eye concealer from, I've been loyally using Benefits Erase Paste for a couple of years now and fancied a change. As you can see by the photos how fair I am when I was matched to this colour I was worried it would appear very white on my skin. However, I have been blending this under my eyes with my trusty real techniques setting brush and it has been doing just the trick at brightening up my face. I only wear a small amount of YSL's BB cream on a day to day basis, as my skin doesn't need a high coverage foundation or concealer. So a little of this concealer goes a long way! 

A couple of other things I picked up include these gold Topshop hoop earrings, which I'm hoping to wear soon and my holy grail Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. 

And last but not least I had to pop into Oxford street Topshop whilst in London, and I picked up these beautiful brogues! I am known to wear a lot of black, because I think you can never go wrong and it always looks smart. So I fancied a statement flat shoe to make a change to my Topshop boots. I picked up these Pewter metalic cut out brogues. I fell in love with these at first site, they look perfect with a pair of black skinny jeans and crisp white shirt, adding an edge to any outfit. I think with the cut outs they will be great in the summer too. I love the shiny shoe look from patent black brogues to these, they might not be for everyone, but when you try these on they look even better than on the hanger! I'll feature these in an outfit post soon! 

What have you been picking up on your shopping trips recently? Let me know what you think of my little purchases in the comments! 

Thanks for reading, 

Rhiannon 

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Guess who's Back

I'm back, after a stupidly long time of not blogging! Since I last posted I have been rather busy, went away to Paris and the South of France, friends 21st birthdays, trips to Cardiff, graduated from university, decorated my new room, been to London (a fair few times), work experience at Miss Selfridge's Head Office, started working full time, celebrated my boyfriends birthday, Christmas, New Year. Yeah 2014! Cliche I know but can't believe how quick last year went. So I thought I would start back with a few photos of what I've been up to since I posted last. Don't worry I will not be leaving it that long again to do another post, so keep a look out!

Thanks for reading, 

Rhiannon 

x

OOTD: Strolling around Paris

Almost two weeks ago I returned from a lovely holiday where we took a trip to Paris for a few days then drove down to the south of France for a week. I've been meaning to do some posts showing some outfits and I've got a small haul to show you too! Trouble is since I've returned I've been so busy, last week I was doing work experience at Miss Selfridge's head office in London which was amazing! 

So back to my outfit here, when I bought this dress from Topshop I intended it as a cover up and I wasn't overly sure on it at first because of its shape. However when I styled it with this Primark black belt it created an interesting sillhouette. I think this dress is a great alternative to a black maxi dress or midi, the tassles give it a great texture and its so comfortable to wear all day in the city. It is also available on the Topshop website in a few other colours which showcase the brights trend that has appeared everywhere this summer. 

I kept the rest of my outfit quite simple with my Topshop 60's oval sunglasses in a tortoise shell print, my rose gold Marc Jacobs watch, Chanel quilted bag and Primark tan gladiator sandals. I had been hunting around for these Primark sandals in the weeks up to my holiday and was having no luck finding them in my size. Luckily I found them in the new Milton Keynes Primark, at £12 I think they were a great buy, and they look very much like Topshop gladiators we see each year. I also saw these available in both white and black, however they did seem to be selling out pretty quickly! 

I shall post up a couple more outfit posts and my France Haul soon :) 

Thanks for reading, 

Rhiannon 

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