Jewellery Storage

I have a colossal amount of jewellery which is shoved in numerous boxes, containers, drawers etc. It is really annoying because I am always losing half a pair of earrings and my necklaces are always tangled.

I was out with the niece the other day and she wanted to pop into Claire's accessories. I immediately saw this jewellery holder which was reduced to a fiver, and thought this may resolve some of my jewellery headache.

It has loads of places to put/hang my necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

I have hung it above my desk, and I think I will get a couple more small ones to put on either side - or maybe a mirror with edges where I can hang my jewellery off. I'll see. The rest of my costume jewellery, which includes a ridiculous amount of indian bangles and sets, are shoved in boxes under my bed until I decide what to do with them. My more dearer/precious/sentimental jewellery are in the silver box on the desk which my sister bought for me as a present. 

I actually forgot that I had some of these pieces. It is so good to have my stuff on display to choose from every morning without having to rummage through boxes and trying to find pairs of earrings!

My current eye creams

I have the usual indian problems when it comes to skincare, including permanent dark circles. Some days they can be hidden under concealer, but most days they are just imposible to hide. I have tried an abundance of eye creams, but non which I have stuck to. The Aveda Tourmaline Charged Eye Cream has been the only one that I have repurchased for over 10 years as it is the only one I have found that works for me. But as the years go by, I find that I need something stronger. So these are the ones I am trying out at the moment.

The Eve Lom Eye Cream Creme Contour Des Yeux is my luxury eye cream. Not many reviews on the net, so I took a leap of faith when I bought it. I swear I noticed a difference within the first few days. I am on week three of using this product and my dark circles have noticeably lightened.

I bought mine from Space NK, and it is definatley not cheap. It would be the only reason why I would hesitate to buy it again, but then then I have spent much more money on eye cream in the past with less result. Plus it is 20 ml and I reckon should last me nine months to a year as you need the tiniest amount. The consistency is slightly thicker than what I have been used to in the past, so I warm a bit of the product between my ring fingers below applying it to the eye area.

I bought the Vichy Aqualia Antiox because I thought it would be a nice cooling product for my eyes for those 'the morning after the night before' situations.

This is the only eye skincare product I took with me on my recent trip to Thailand. It is light, comes in a stick to apply and sooooo cooling. I apply it directly onto my eye area without needing to tap the product in with my fingers. It was great to use in the mornings when I woke up (we were were getting an average of 5 hours sleep a night (if that) as the cooling sensation refreshed me instantly. It was really handy to keep in my handbag and apply throughout the day to keep me refreshed and eye area moisturised. 

Cane & Austin Sunscreen

I went into Space NK a few weeks ago, seeking a sunscreen that I can use under my make up and which does not result in giving my face a grey overcast. After spending a good fifteen minutes with an assistant looking at various options, I decided to buy the
Cane & Austin Ultra Sheer Weightless Sunscreen Protect

This was purchased in blind faith and so far - touch wood- I have not regretted it. It does everything I want it to - and more. It has whopping spf of 55, with UVA and UVB. It is very runny compared to other sunscreens I have used, so I have to use it quickly before the product runs through my fingers.

I have been putting this over my serum in the mornings, before foundation. I find that I can at times skip the moisturiser as it hydrates my usually dry skin. I love how it feels on my skin and a bonus I found was that it worked as a great base for make up.

The best thing is that it goes on transparent - hallelujah!!! This is definitely coming with me in my travels :)

Talika Eyebrow Lipocils

I have always had very sparse eyebrows, and a certain 'mishap' during my uni days resulted me in burning one half off. I always feel that I look like a bit of an alien if the brows are not pencilled in. I am hoping to do some more travelling later this year, and have been thinking about what to do so that I don't crazy without make up on at the beach. So I decided to invest in the Talika Eyebrow Lipocil.

The packaging it nice - it has a mirror on one side which is handy, and the wand is flat for easy application. I have used this every night, and most mornings for about a month, and have noticed some changes. My eyebrows do seem thicker and more full, but there is some new hair growing in the 'bald patches'. I will use the whole thing, but will probably switch to Castor oil which my eyebrow treading  lady keeps demanding that I use.

The Talika website in general is pretty good, but I got mine from slapiton  - and got some free samples in my package which made me pretty excited. 

I got two sachets of hand serum treatment, and two pairs of resuable eye therapy patches. I have used these patches for a couple of years now and I love them. I keep the ones I am currently using in their custom made case to keep them cool and sanitised.

They are really cooling and refreshing. Even better if they are stuck in the fridge for a short while before use. They really help reduce bags, and I can notice a temporary reduction of the dark circles as well.

I have been pleasantly surprised with all the Talika products I have tried out in the past (their instant manicure is pretty good as well). Its a good brand, and definitely worth looking at.

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!