What's In My Tiny Makeup Bag

Around the same time I hosted my 1000 subs YouTube giveaway, I went and made a sneaky purchase for myself. If you remember or if you took part you will know I gave away the black and gold version of this amazing Art Deco style Ted Baker makeup bag. Despite it being extremely beautiful (I'm a little in love with anything Art Deco) it is a little on the tiny side. 

I like to keep this little bag on my shelves filled with the makeup that I use every day. It never ever gets completely zipped up and there are always various items poking out at all angles. Even though it is small it can actually fit a fair amount of stuff inside it, as you can see above. 

This month I've been switching between just using the MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC15 and the Revlon BB Cream in Light, depending on whether my skin is particularly oily that day. Both products give me a medium coverage and the BB cream fits perfectly inside the bag, the MAC not so much. 

Then we have the absolute staples, the products that never ever leave my makeup bag. The Maxfactor Liquid Effect Eyeliner, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, Urban Decay Primer Potion, L'Oreal Gel Liner and the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. No matter what other products I have in my collection, these will always be present in any makeup bag I use. I would say that these products make up my 'If I was stranded on a desert island' makeup bag, all extremely reliable and good quality. 

Some new additions are the L'Oreal Brow Artist Pencil, which I recently talked about in my Current Eyebrow Routine post. Its red tones and excellent pigmentation is perfect for matching my brows to my hair (I'm not a natural redhead, I'm actually blonde *gasp*). Another new-ish addition is the Bourjois Liner Feutre Pen Eyeliner, which I think I've spoken about too much now, but it is amazing and I'm happy to report that I'm still in love with it. 

As for the remaining items, I've had these guys for a while and I've allowed them to join the guys of the makeup bag big league for a limited period. The Barry M Liquid Eyeliner is one of the older products I'm currently using, I like to have options when it comes to doing my cat flicks. Then we have a few Benefit products making an appearance. I'm not going to lie, Benefit isn't my favourite makeup brand and I've been attempting to love their Porefessional Primer, but I just can't seem to find the feelings for it. The Hoola Bronzing Powder on the other hand, I do love, unconditionally. The tiny Benetint also sneaked in but yet again I can't seem to find the love for it. 

Finally, we have the last little bits, a sample of Chanel's Perfection Lumiere Foundation and two mascaras. Again, I like to have options when it comes to mascaras. Currently I'm switching between the Soap and Glory Thick & Fast mascara for super volumisation and the Rituals Volumising mascara, which gives amazing length. 

So as you can see, despite its small exterior, it can hold a pretty good number of products. It's a bit like the Tardis of the makeup bag world. Let me know in the comments what products never ever leave your makeup bag and if you can zip yours closed or like to leave it open and free like me!

February Favourites

It is that time again, that time of the month (no not that one) where I shower you with all the lovely products that have been serving me well throughout February. In the past I've dabbled with beauty favourites, non-beauty favourites and also just one big giant video of favourites. This month I wanted to go back to the old days and do a beauty and non-beauty video, it's a lot easier to film and a lot quicker to edit. 

This month has been a month of rediscovery. The Lee Stafford Treatment Mask for example is an old and firm favourite, back where it belongs on my teeny tiny shower shelf. Then we have the Simple Rich Moisturiser, which came to my rescue when new ventures failed me. This little face moisturiser came in and made sure my face had all the moisture it needed throughout the day, despite it's travel size. Another product that crawled out of my cluttered collection was the Soap & Glory Glow All Out highlighter. It usually sits longingly on my acrylic desk storage waiting to be used, but this month it made the makeup bag cut and proved itself as a nice subtle highlighter, well done little guy. My final rediscovery was the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. I have two of these, the twins of my makeup brush collection, but this month I discovered a new and effective way to use it. It may have taken me longer than it should have to realise that this brush is extremely versatile. I like to use it flat against my face for buffing in foundation, but the other way to use this is to blend out concealer using only the side of the brush, it blends everything together without moving the coverage!

Next we have the new guys, they may be newbies but they have certainly proven themselves. After running out of my beloved L'Oreal Micellar Water I decided to take a gamble and try the newly released Garnier Micellar Water, I was not disappointed. Not only do you get tons more product, but it does just a good a job of removing all of my makeup. Last but by no means least we have the Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Pink Quartz. This shade was so beautiful I couldn't let it stay in the shop, a beautiful gold with a pink shimmer. Not to mention it has amazing staying power, after over a week it is only just starting to chip and that's with no topcoat!

Overall it's been a pretty successful month for beauty; let's hope next month I have just as many products to praise. Remember to check back next week where I'll be telling you all about my non-beauty favourites of February.

Soap & Glory Sit Tight Body Firming Serum

 

Having nice firm skin always makes a difference to how we look and feel, but actually getting it can be tricky. I've now reached the point where I'm pretty happy with my weight, but I'd just like to tone up. Toning the muscles underneath the skin is pretty straight forward, however the stubborn orange peel and cellulite like to stick around no matter what. 

I decided I would get a little help from a firming specific product, I've used many in the past such as Dove and Avon and found that they were alright but not quite good enough. I read a lot of reviews about the Sit Tight Firming Serum before I bought it, as it is a little on the pricey side.

It comes in a fairly generous size, 125ml, which is more than enough to last a good few uses. The applicator on the end of the bottle is rounded and has 3 metal roller balls, these are supposed to help stimulate circulation and reduce cellulite. I personally find the roller ball application to be a bit tricky, you have to give the tube a good squeeze to be able to get the product out, usually too much squirts out because you've been squeezing so hard. I usually squeeze out the product onto my skin and use my hands to massage it in, the roller balls don't really disperse the product very evenly.

The actual product is not too thick but not too runny, you only need a small amount to cover a large area. It soaks into the skin fairly quickly but it does leave you feeling a little sticky. You really do have to make sure you don't put too much of this on, I found that if I put a lot on, my skin would get really itchy. At first I thought I might be having a reaction, but the next day I used it again but put less on and it was fine. It does make your skin feel cold and after a while it starts to tingle, I like to put this on before bed as I would be constantly distracted by the feeling if I put it on in the day. 

As for the results, well I definitely noticed a difference in the firmness of my skin but my orange peel didn't really budge all that much. Soap & Glory don't claim that this is a miracle product, they make it very clear on the packaging that the only way to see results is to workout and eat healthily in conjunction with using this. They are definitely right, this is a great product for toning the skin, but if you want to get rid of cellulite and orange peel the only way is lots of water and regular exercise. 

RRP: £16.50 (available at Boots)

Have your tried Sit Tight? What do you think of firming creams and serums? 

Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed

I am currently on a mission to find the best product for fighting the little pore clogging evils that are blackheads. I have always had a massive amount of blackheads, especially around my nose, but over the past few months they seem to be completely taking over. I cleanse twice a day and always make sure I take my makeup off, but alas I have pores bigger than the grand canyon, and nothing seems to be keeping them clog free. 

I've got a lot of love for Soap & Glory products, and I've found their skincare products to be pretty impressive, so I thought I'd try their No Clogs Allowed mask. This is a self heating mask that claims to clean deep down into the pores (don't they all). It contains teeny tiny beads to give a light exfoliation and is aimed at Oily/Combination skin. Then once you wet your hands and have given it another scrub, it will turn blue, you then leave it on for 5 minutes and wash off.

After using this the first time, I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter and cleaner, I haven't noticed a decrease in my blackheads though. After using it once a week for a good couple of weeks now, I have noticed that my sensitive skin is starting to dislike it. I find that around my nose, the skin becomes red and irritated. It does state on the packaging however that it should not be used on sensitive skin, which I obviously ignored because I'm too lazy to read the packaging, my own fault.

The smell is very chemically, it has a slight menthol scent with a hint of fruity tang. I know, a very strange description, but it's the best I've got. The actual product is pretty thick and slightly gritty, it's very easy to apply though and doesn't go everywhere like some clay masks. 

In the past the No Clogs Allowed has come with a facial sponge, however with the new packaging re-vamp by Soap & Glory, I've found that you no longer get one. The new packaging, much like with my Peaches and Clean, is unbelievably plain and boring. One of my friends described this as looking like a supermarkets own brand of toothpaste, and she's not wrong. I don't know what's going on with Soap & Glory packaging lately, but it seems to be a pretty strange direction to go in. 

I think if you have normal skin that isn't prone to sensitivity, this could be a great exfoliating, brightening mask for you. But those of us with very sensitive skin and masses of blackheads, we will have to keep on the hunt. 

RRP: £7.67

What products do you love for combating blackheads? 

Grab A Spoon, We're Having Peaches and Clean!

 

I've been a bit skincare obsessed recently; I'm desperately trying to find a cleanser that can make my skin better than what it currently is. Which is just plain awful FYI. I have discovered that cleansing milks and cleansing balms seem to be better for spot prone skin, with this information firmly planted in my noggin, I ran to Boots to go get me some.

I've been really impressed with S&G products lately, plus I've heard oodles of praise for Peaches and Clean. I decided if I'm going to delve into different types of cleansers, S&G was the place to start. 

I can't begin to describe how disappointed I was when I found it (which took some doing let me tell ya) and the packaging had been changed. I love the packaging of Soap & Glory, it's distinctive! For some reason this is the only product I found with this new (slightly plain and boring) packaging. It's still pretty much the same design though, sturdy plastic bottle with a handy pump, can't really complain. I love that this has a pump as products that are quite thin and potentially runny, don't fair well in a squeezy type bottle.

The smell is pretty yummy I have to admit. It doesn't smell as unbelievably drop dead gorgeous amazeballs as every one made it out to smell though. It's still lovely; it smells mostly of peach (hence the name) but has a slight undertone of mint, which gives it a really fresh scent. 

This doesn't remove makeup completely, but it gives it a good go. I usually use it twice at night with a muslin cloth to get everything off and clean. It leaves your skin feeling silky soft, nourished, fresh and clean, there isn't much more you could ask for from a cleanser is there? 

I've definitely noticed a difference in the look of my skin since switching to this from my frothy cleansers. My skin looks healthier and more awake! I still get breakouts but not nearly as much as I used to, which is fine and dandy with me. 

Have your tried Peaches and Clean? What do you think of this yummy cleanser?