My priceless gift

Look at what a lovely friend made me for my birthday (belated) this year:

Both the card and photo frame is handmade by herself. She is so creative and talented (with a very good soul). It is such a beautiful and thoughtful gift - things like this I cherish more than anything. She put a picture of a bunch of us in the frame, and it is the loveliest thing I got this year.

This year was obviously the first one where he was not here. I went away so that I didn't have to be reminded of it. But my thoughts went away with me, and on the day of my birthday itself, it was pretty difficult. I thought of my sweet friend all the time. 

I have also thought of my sweet friend on his first birthday where he has not been around. I didn't have to think about what gift to get him, I didn't get to wish him a happy birthday. Gosh, its so hard. 

My heart does not feel like it is breaking every time I think of him anymore, but every now and then, it just hits me again like a cannon ball. This weekend,  I have been numb but its completely hit me again today. 

I love you my friend, my sweetheart. Best friends ya?

x

How unbearable must it be lose your soulmate? 

Montagne Jeunesse: 1. Passion Peel Off Masque

I picked up a few of the Montagne face masks from Superdrug over the weekend. Mainly because they were about 99p each, completely cruelty free and the size made it handy to take away on trips away. I picked up three different ones and thought I'd to a blog series to write about what I thought about each one and how my skin reacted to them.

Right... my skin is dry / combination. Its somewhat uneven around the mouth area and have some blemishes from previous spots and acne. I also have pores in the usual places. I also have hideous hereditary dark circles under my eyes. Not that my skin is awful, but its my fault for not drinking enough water. Oh, I also have hype-pigmentation. It can get congested so I need to make sure I exfoliate and cleanse my face regularly. Also, I suppose I should say, I left my teenage years - years and years ago!


Anyway, onto the first one - the deep cleansing 'Passion peel off' mask. It claims to gently peel away dead skin. The pomegranate and passion flower is meant to cleanse, purify and protect leaving the skin feeling fresh and radiant. It is recommended for normal, dry and t-zone skin. It also includes raspberry, grape, cranberry and vitamin E.

So how I prepared my skin was cleanse my face with scrub, use the No 7 exfoliater, and pat dry. I then used my fingers to apply a light layer across the face and neck. The package says to leave 10-20 minutes until dry. But my skin sucked in all the moisture within 5 minutes. I then slowly peeled it off and gently washed off any bits that remained stuck on my skin.

The consistency is very gel like and it goes onto the face very smoothly. The colour is quite fun - transparent strawberry comes to mind. The smell is a lovely, edible pomegranate fragrance which lingers under the nose when the mask is setting. Its one of those masks that tightens onto your skin, so you can't smile or talk too much. This is the first time in years I have used this type so it felt a bit odd.

Its quite a weird experience watching the mask peel off the skin. Its like that weird fascination of examining a pore strip after use! I finished off with a toner, my Caudalie Serum and a tiny bit of my goji berry cream. I have to say, my skin felt super soft and smooth. More imprtantly, it felt fresh and cleansed (although the nose area still felt a bit congested).

Because of the packaging it comes in, the mask was cool upon application (I'll put in in a fridge next time for and extra boost of coolness).

I will be able to get at least two uses out of this as a little goes a heck of a long way. Just make sure you put it in an airtight container after it is opened, and should stay fresh for a week. I put mine in a little plastic container where I think I got four for £1 at my local pound store. It did the job:

Link to their website here for more products

Neutrogena face cleansers

Superdrug was having an offer on some Neutrogena products recently. I think it was 'buy one, get one free' thing. So I picked up these:

I have been using the 'Spot Stress Control' after cleansing my face at night, and the 'Blackhead Eliminating' in the morning. The Spot scrub comes in a very light colour, with slightly darker micro beads (top swatch on hand). It has Green tea and cucumber to help soothe skin.
It is meant to help unclog pores, which I have not found that it does. It is a decent scrub but nothing to write home about. The micro beads are pretty sparse and you have to work it well into the skin to feel any exfoliation. It actually doesn't feel that great on the skin so I don't think I will repurchase it again. The Blackhead Eliminating Scrub on the other hand comes up slightly better in my opinion. This one has more of an orange tone with darker orange mirco beads. It doesn't claim to have any 'buzz' word ingredients. But it oddly claims to keep blackheads at bay for up to three weeks. I mean, why only three weeks? What happens after three weeks??!
Anyway, this one is also an odd creamy texture, it also does not smell so great and feels pretty chemically. But the difference is that once it is washed off, my face almost tingles, and feels really fresh. I can't say that its made much difference to my blackheads (I have annoying ones on my nose and chin area), but it cleans well and overall is an alright product.


Overall they are both are okay products.

One similar product I would like to mention here is the Clean & Clear Blackhead clearing scrub. This is ace. The beads are just the right size, it made me feel like the blackheads were actually scrubbing away and spots were kept at bay when I used this. With the Neutrogena ones, I saw spots still appearing

on my face. The only reason why I stopped using this was because it was a tad drying for my dry skin. But I think I might get this again when my other scrubs have run out. I remember whenever I went with a friend to New York when we were younger, he used to always pop to Dwayne Reed to pick a couple of Clean & Clear stuff. During then, I don't think Clean & Clear were available in the UK. 

Mac Lustreglass in Springbean

I've never been fussed about Mac make up and don't really rave about it to my friends. But slowly it has begun to dawn on me that I have accumulate a heck of a lot of Mac stuff without realising it.

Anyway, this post is about another Mac product. This time a Lustreglass in 'Springbean'. I was given this pretty little duo ages ago:

The top 'greeny' one is springbean, and the bottom one I think is called 'love nectar'. I am not sure as the writing has all rubbed off. I really liked the springbean, mainly it was an unusual colour to pull out of my bag - it gives a great conversation piece! As you can see, it looks a light yellow-green with gold glitter on it. Once you apply it however, it is quite subtle and the glittery flecks give a nice dimension to the lips. So Once I was scraping along the sides of the tube, I went ahead and bought the full size version. It costs £12 for 4.7g. Which I think is pretty expensive. I am using my tube very sparingly because I can see it running out very quickly if I use it as my other lip glosses (i.e as  a lip balm).

The website says that it gives a pearly finish which I think is probably true. What I like about it most is the effect it gives over any lipstick. I have swatched four colours from my Clinique Pink Ribbon Lipstick Palette to demonstrate the vibrancy it gives off over each colour. CS = Colour Surge Lipstick, LLSS = Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick:

The lipsticks are all very shiny anyway, but with the springbean over is, it gives an almost diamond-esq effect which makes the lip look more voluminous and plump. 

Definitely a lovely product to get any lipstick look glamorous. See the way the light picks up some of the sparkles? Glamorous!

Burts Bees lip balms

I went browsing round my local TK Max one lazy Saturday afternoon, looking for a vintage looking leather jacket. I had no luck but my eyes started roaming around the make up and skincare section. There were some really well-priced things I would have bought, but there are some really inconsiderate people out there who rip into the packages, stick their fingers in it and just leave the product ruined. It really gets on my nerves when people destroy something so senselessly like that.

Anyway, mini rant over, I saw the pack of Burts Bees lip balms in a pack of three. Each stick normally costs about £3.49, but the whole pack was priced at TK Max for £5. So I quickly snatched it before anyone  could defile it. It had three separate 'flavours'; Replenishing pomegranate oil, Beeswax and Honey.
Burts's Bees whole philosophy is natural ingredients.

Their website says on the pomegranate balm says "Burt's Bees Natural Pomegranate lip balm contains 100% natural ingredients for a truly moisturising experience. Replenishing and conditioning, this beautiful balm contains rich oils to help your lips look healthy and hydrated. Packed with antioxidants, this natural pomegranate lip balm coats lips with a subtle rosy hue, for truly luscious-looking lips."

The Honey one smells very sweet and just like raw, organic honey. It goes on the lips clear and very moisturising. I'd like it a lot if the smell was not so sickly sweet. The Beeswax one smells very cooling and refreshing.... just as the label says! Very 'pepperminty'. This is nice as it leaves my lips all tingly. But I've had to resort to using it as a night conditioner because too much comes off on application, and leaves a white residue on my lips (which you can imagine how awful that looks). You may be able to get a sense of how it breaks off from the picture - its the one at the bottom. 
I have tried the pomegranate one before and it is definitely my favourite. The smell is not as overbearing as the Honey one and it is VERY moisturising.It doesn't transfer as red on my lips as it shows on the stick. But it leaves a nice, healthy sheen to my lips. This is the one I have at my desk at work. Deffo one of the best lip balms I've tried. I tend to find some non-organic lip balms can just  leave a film of moisture on my lips and once that rubs away, it can make my lips feel even more dry. But with natural products like Burts Bees, it feels like my lips are getting nourished beyond the surface, leaving it smoother for longer. 


Having said all that about the Beeswax stick, I had bought the 'Beeswax lip balm tin' a while back and loved it. I kept the tin after the product finished because I thought it was so, so cute!

RIP Sweety Pie

This is my favourite lipstick that is sadly discontinued, as is the entire beautifully packaged, Pout cosmetics line. I bought it off a discounted cosmetics website with a whole bunch of Pout eyeshadows. The eyeshadows were rubbish, but I dearly wish I had bought more of their lipsticks. This is called 'Ultra Glossy Sheer lipstick in Sweety Pie'. This is how it looked like when I bought it:

It came with the cute pouch which I still have. I love, love this. It goes on like an almost transparent, pink sheen. But gets more vibrant the more layers I put on. I have very small lips, pigmented lips and this just makes it look more plump and very healthy.

I wanted to put all these very similar pictures up in memory of my beloved lipstick, which is almost finished. I don't think you can get this anymore, and I could kick myself for not picking up more of these when I has the chance. So long my lovely lipstick, you made me look fresh in my worst days, and made my lips stand out in photos. I will always remember you - and keep your casing in memory.

xoxo

Clinique Almost Bronzer SPF 15

I had to mention this lovely little product that I got during a bonus time ages ago. This is what's left of my precious little sample size:

And this is what you would get if you bought the actual size:

The website says:

'Sheer bronzing duo protects with broad-spectrum SPF 15. Versatile formula lets you customize and build your bronze from sun kissed to suntanned. Provides a natural look all-year round. Long-wearing. Oil free. For all skin types.'

This is bloody fantastic. I am not a huge bronzer fan simply because I just don't know how to use it. But because the duo is very soft, it goes not pretty subtle. I was given the sample in 'light/medium' and I thing its perfect for me. The little angled brush it came with it (it is different to the one in this pic), glides perfectly under my cheek bones to give it a subtle definition. The lighter one is a great highlight. I just think its great to wear at daytime for a natural, glowy and healthy effect. I use the colours individually or swirl both colours together - what ever takes my fancy on the day. 


I'm especially loving it at the moment because I've still got a tan from holiday and my foundation isn't matching so well. So a quick sweep of this over my face just warms me up. 


The full size is definitely on my wish list for when the next bonus time comes around. Plus it comes with spf 15 - what more could you want??!!

£22 for full size.