5 Skin Care Products To Pamper Winter Skin

When winter rolls around we always start to look for the best skincare products to breath life back into our skin. The harsh, winter wind can strip your skin of all it's moisture, so it's important to make sure your products are as moisturising as possible. 

There are various beauty products out there that claim to inject moisture back into the skin, but here are a few I like to use to pamper myself during the colder winters. 

If you're at a loss as to what products are best for you, natural skin care is always a great place to start. Lush and Origins are two of my favourite natural skin care brands and I always turn to them for an emergency moisture hit. The Origins Drink Me Up Overnight Mask has quickly become a winter essential, when applied before bed it can work miracles whilst you sleep. In the morning you'll wake up with plump, moisturised skin. The Lush Dream Cream is an all over body moisturiser that, I again, like to use before bed time. It can be a little sticky, which is why I like to apply a thin layer before putting my pyjamas on. Both work wonders overnight and your guaranteed to wake up with healthier looking skin.

Another natural skin care brand, The Body Shop, has some amazing products for healthy skin. In the winter I like to switch from a milk cleanser to a more robust balm cleanser. The one I'm currently using is The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. I find that cleansing balms have the right oils in them to really add some added moisture to my skin during the colder months. 

When I need that last shot of moisture before leaving the house, I like to use the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream and the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Skin Protectant. The Origins eye cream freshens up my eyes and makes sure that the delicate skin is well and truly cared for. As for The 8 Hour Skin Protectant, it is my essential lip product, it's what I reach for when the cold has well and truly ravaged my lips. One layer of this left over night will insure you wake up with healthy moisturised lips. 

What are your winter skincare essentials? Do you suffer with very dry skin in the colder weather? 

5 Ways to warm up your winter makeup

It's well known that the lack of sun during the cold, winter months makes our complexions a little paler. If, like me, you're already paler than snow no matter the time of year, it can be beneficial to use products to warm up your skintone. 

Use a good bronzer. Bronzer doesn't just have to be for those summer months, I use bronzer all year round to add a bit of colour to my skin. I love the The Body Shop Honey Bronzer and the Benefit Hoola Bronzer to add a warmer tone to my cheeks and temple, they are also great for a light contour. 

Crack out the berry red blushers. I don't have that many, but the ones I do have tend to get a hammering during the winter. I always use them sparingly so that I don't look like I just ran a 3 minute mile, but they are great for adding a winter flush. 

Plumb lips. I like to stick to fairly neutral colours the majority of the time, but these past few months I've been really loving muted plumb shades. I find that the warmness of the plumb tone adds a bit more of a natural colour to the lips without being too overpowering. 

Warm toned eyeshadows. Of course cold and warm tones look good depending on your skin tone, but I can assure you there will be warm tones out there to suit everyone. My personal favourites are rich browns and golds, as I find no matter what my hair colour (it changes fairly often) they always make my eyes pop. 

Push aside the black and grab the brown mascara and eyeliner. Changing from the usual black mascara and eyeliner can help to not only soften your look, but also add a little more warmth to the eyes. 

Do you attempt to warm up your complexion during winter? What steps do you take to assure glowing winter skin?

A/W 14' Fashion Wishlist

A couple of days ago I showed you all the key items my heart is lusting after but my bank account is avoiding. That was just the tip of the A/W wishlist iceberg and I'd now like to present to you the fashion A/W wishlist. My wardrobe is pretty dire and I'm now on a mission to get all my basic pieces down before winter actually comes knocking. So without further adieu, here are the items topping my autumn wardrobe wishlist.  

1. Zara Mixed Knit Snood Scarf - When the weather starts to get colder, there's a little switch inside of me that clicks on and all of a sudden I become a scary, obsessive, scarf lady. I'm a sucker for a good quality, chunky knit scarf and because the majority of my wardrobe is black & white, this multi coloured knit jumped straight onto my 'to buy' Pinterest board. 

2. H&M Wide Coat - I'm always looking for new coats for winter and there's something about the boxy cut of this that really caught my eye. I'm not one for colour or pattern but I do love a good clean cut, whether it's boxy or asymmetrical, I'm always drawn to unusual shapes. This coat looks like a nice length, cut and looks toasty and warm, perfect.  

3. Topshop Ripped Jamie Jeans - I've debated ripping the knees on my Molly River Island jeans as they are the only black pair I have, however I lack confidence in my fashion DIY skills. I do love the Topshop Jamie Jeans and it would be great to get my hands on some pre-ripped, at least then I can have two pairs of black jeans. 

4. H&M Fine-Knit Jumper - I do love a good jumper and I love that this is baggy but doesn't make you look like your trying to hide something (shopping, a pillow, a baby bump...). Sometimes I buy oversized jumpers and they cling to my hips and end up making me look even more chunky then I already am. This one (I tried it on in the store) hangs really nicely, giving you the oversized effect but without making you look bigger than you are.

5. Fiorelli Roxy Bag Grey - The sensible person in me tells me to get the black version of this bag but the grey keeps catching my eye every time I visit ASOS. I do technically need a plain black bag that I can use in the day and that will go with any outfit, but the grey is just so darn pretty! 

6. Olivia Burton Modern Vintage Watch in Rose Gold & Grey - I first caught wind of Olivia Burton watches thanks to a post I read on A Little Boat Sailing, she wrote about the beautiful new watch she'd bought and it was so unique I had to check out the site she got it from. After much browsing I came across this beauty and fell in love. I rarely wear watches as I don't own any really nice ones that work for both day and night wear, but this looks like it could change my watch wearing habits. 

Have you managed to get your A/W wardrobe ready to go? Or are you still fumbling around trying to decide what you should be sporting this season? Let me know what new A/W purchases you have made and if you have got your eye on any new pieces. 

A/W 14' Beauty Wishlist

Now that autumn is just around the corner, I've been thinking more and more about products that need to be purchased for me to survive the colder months. The main change that I notice is that my skin dries up like the desert, so I have to make sure that I have an army of moisturising products to tackle it. There is also the odd bit of makeup that catches my eye, usually something I've been looking at for a while and as my birthday is coming up, it's always good to have have a little treat lined up. 

1. Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow - So many people have been raving about Charlotte Tilbury products, but because of the large price tag I haven't been able to give any a good testing. The Bronze & Glow however, caught my eye when the collection was first released. I have heard so many great things about the highlighter and the bronzer looks like it could be a good shade for the paler skinned (I need a lot more colour in the winter).

2. Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Masque - Recently on Twitter I asked for face mask suggestions that could give me a good deep clean, this is the pick that came out on top. So many people recommended this to me and it was recently featured in one of my favourite YouTubers favourites videos, so I knew it was something I needed to test out. I suffer with blemish prone skin so I wanted something that could clean deep deep down but without reacting with my very sensitive skin, this sounds like the mask that could tick all the boxes. 

3. Korres Wild Rose 24-H Moisturising Brightening Cream - I'm currently in the market for a richer moisturiser to really tackle the colder weather. At the moment I'm using the Simple Rich Moisturiser but as my skin gets drier it doesn't do the same job. The packaging for the Korres Brightening Cream caught my eye initially and after a bit of research I decided I needed to give it a test out. 

4. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - This is another product that everyone raves about. I've been wanting to try this for so long now but I've been trying to get through the foundations I already have. The reason I want to try the serum and not the foundation is that the serum feels a bit more gel like and moisturising. Even though the lightest shade of this is always sold out in my local Superdrug and Boots, I think I'll be on a hunt for it in the next couple of weeks. 

5. Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk - I fell in love with the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm and when I found out they did it in a cleansing milk I knew I had to try it. The Take The Day Off range is absolutely amazing at removing stubborn makeup and it really feels like it's cleaning deep deep down. I find cleansing milks to be a lot better for dry skin as they don't strip out the oils like foaming cleansers have a habit of doing. Whether the cleansing milk will be quite as good as the balm is something that I'm prepared to find out for myself. 

6. Vaseline Spray & Go Essential Moisture - After using the Cocoa Butter Spray & Go, it quickly became a holy-grail product for winter. The Spray & Go moisturisers soak in super quickly, lightly fragrance the skin and give you a softly moisturised feeling. It's perfect for the lazy people like myself and I may go a bit mad and get a few different bottles so that I've tested every formula out. 

Let me know in the comments below what you always re-purchase in preparation for the winter months and what products you have your eye on to test out this year!

Autmun/Winter Wardrobe Additions: Bershka

Now that the weather is decidedly chillier than it has been, it's about time I did some major Autumn/Winter shopping. Shopping for the colder months is most definitely my favourite kind of shopping. I love nothing more than layering up and breaking out the ankle boots and fluffy jumpers. 

Not only am I adding some much needed items to my Winter wardrobe, I'm also trying to give it a makeover. Over the last 3 years of Uni I've let my wardrobe go a bit down hill. Now that I'm back at work I want to get my minimalist wardrobe up to scratch. I love anything that is clean cut, plain and simple so Bershka was on the top of my list of stores to check out. 

Bershka is a reasonably priced store that offers some amazing basic pieces. I like to think of it as Zara's younger more urban sibling. I've always been one to browse and lust after things from Bershka, but these are the first things I've ever taken the plunge and bought from them.

I've been trying to find a pair of beige ankle boots for a while now and I couldn't find any that were under £100 or not sold out. Then I saw these BSK Zipper Detail Heeled Ankle Boots online and new they were exactly what I was looking for. One thing I really hate is when ankle boots have that slippy plastic sole (New Look boots tend to be the main culprits) so I was a little nervous about what these were going to be like. I'm happy to report that they have a sturdy rubber sole that isn't going to send me flying in the icy weather. 

The Flap Detail Suede Bag was more of an impulse buy. My beloved Nica Lucy bag is now falling to pieces and I wanted a new winter handbag. This was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be but actually it's the perfect size to fit the essentials in and not weigh you down. It's real leather and feels like amazing quality, only time will tell if it can withstand the amount of wear I'll be getting out of it though. 

I'm definitely even more of a fan of Bershka now I have these lovely additions to my wardrobe. Hopefully once I've gotten my wardrobe to tip top condition I can do some outfit posts to really show these guys off. Keep your eyes peeled!

What new Autumn/Winter items have you added to your wardrobe lately? Are you ready for summer to be over? 

A/W Fashion Haul

I recently went to my wardrobe on a cold autumn day to find that I own next to no clothes, great. My wardrobe has always been a bit lacking, but recently I decided to scrape some pennies together and go A/W shopping. 

My first point of call was of course Primark, being a poor student and all it seemed like the most financially viable option. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the choice in chunky knits and festive jumpers. They also had a great range of winter boots to suit everyone's tastes. 

H&M also showed promise in the knitwear department, I always overlook H&M but it's definitely worth a look at the moment. Overall I ended up with a good few decent items which will surely keep me toasty over these chilly months. Take a look, you might see something that takes your fancy! 

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick 107

I'm not usually a massive fan of a matte finish, I have very dry lips at the best of times and would rather not make them look more prune like. But when I saw this shade on Zoella in one of her videos, I went straight out and bought it. It is a really lush berry red shade which is perfect for Autumn/Winter, not to mention anything matte is very in trend this season. 

The Rimmel lipsticks are, in my opinion, some of the best available on the high street. The staying power is amazing and the pigmentation is stunning. However for my already dry lips, this is very drying. I usually apply a lip balm underneath to make it more comfortable to wear, which usually works a treat. 

This has definitely become one of my 'must have' A/W lip products, the colour is just too gorgeous to ignore. Not to mention the price of Rimmel lipsticks is a steal. 

RRP: £5.49

Have you purchased 107 yet? Do you love the Kate Matte formula?