Couple new additions to the skincare routine

Dry skin has plagued me ever since I took medication for adult acne. This has been going on for years now. One product that worked miracles for me to combat this is Khiel's Midnight Recovery Concentrate which I discovered last year  - I will dedicate a seperate post for this product later.

This post is dedicated for my most recent discoveries to help hydrate my skin and make it look smoother. I have been on the search for a gentle exfoliator - nothing too harsh but effective enough. I was going to pick up a Dermalogica product, but then I came across this Clarins mask which was a bit cheaper.  

About twice a week, what I have been doing is: after cleansing my skin, I'll put on a thickish layer of the Clarins Gentle Peeling  Smooth Away Cream and let it sit for a couple of minutes to dry up. Then as per instruction, I'll gently rub the mask off (over a basin, because it can get messy!). Instead of rinsing my face with water, I just swipe a gentle toner over my face, and then massage in the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. And that is it. I go to sleep with it on and in the morning my skin feels more plump, hydrated and smoother.

My foundation goes on really well the next day and my skin looks more alive. I have been using it for just over a month now, and so far I'm loving this combination. I am really lazy with the whole deep cleansing, exfoliating, and 20 minute mask routine, so this Clarins product is great for me. It works as an exfoliator, helps sort my pores out and makes the skin look fresh.

The origins mask hydrates my skin pretty well, and I think it leaves the face more soft and plump in the morning.  It contains all the skincare goodness of Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid and avacado oil. Sometimes if I squeeze too much product out, I will massage it in for a good few minutes. It can feel a little sticky to the touch but it is nothing too traumatic, and make sure you use a good face wash in the morning to get rid of all the product off your face. I have not tried them both separately but I reckon the Clarins can be a good thing to use to give the skin a boost

I feel like my skincare products are almost there now, just need the perfect cream to get rid of dark under eye circles!

Guerlain Ecrin 6 Couleurs

This is one of my favourite eyeshadow palettes. I love everything about it - quality of the shadows, the applicator that comes with it and the gorgeous packaging.

I had been looking for  neutral eyeshadow palette for ages, and I finally found this one last summer. I tend to reach for this a lot in the mornings for a natural daytime look, especially at work, and they last all day without creasing. I like that there are colours in there that I can use for a subtle daytime look, but I can always use the darker shades to vamp it up in the evening.

I bought this palette for a whopping £53 from House of Fraser. My justification for spending that much money is that I genuinely use every single eyeshadow, all the time. There are colours suitable to use for bases, all over, crease, highlighter and the black is perfect for a smokey look.

The only minor gripe I have is that although the packaging is lovely, it is slightly on the heavy side. But Usually something like that would annoy me, but I can make an exception for this palette, and I keep it displayed on my desk rather than shove it in a drawer like I do with my other eyeshadows ;)

MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush

I made a quick stop over to MAC the other day for some advice, with the intention of picking up a highlighter and bronzer.

After trying out a few of the mineral highlighters, I eventually admitted defeat and accepted that powders just don't work on my naturally dry skin. In the end I settled for the cream base in HUSH.

Its a nice, pinky-frosty colour - a bit duskier than what it looks like in the pictures. It also blends well into my skin to give a soft finish.

I like that it is compact enough to put into my make up bag for touch-ups in the evenings. There is not much to say really except that it is a decent multi-purpose highlighter. I still love my Benefit High Beam more, only because I find I have to work that little bit harder to blend HUSH into my skin compared to the other one. I am also in love with the Nars Orgasm Illuminator which I shall dedicate a blog post of its own to soon. 

Another highlighter I have put onto my shopping list is the Becca shimmering skin perfector. I actually think about this product a lot and is on top of my list of things to buy. 

I have also ordered a couple of the E.L.F Shimmer sticks to try out and will document my thoughts on them once they have been tested out. 

In terms of bronzer, the assistant applied a skin finish powder on me which was a few shades darker than my natural skin tone. She showed my how to apply etc. It didn't look too bad, but I decided not to purchase it because I still don't think I have got the grasp of bronzer on indian skin yet. Only because I worry that I won't apply it and end up looking mental. I'm thinking to taking the plunge and picking up the Chanel Soleil Tan or try out a Benefit one. I'm not sure... its all confusing!