25 February 2013

Review: Lush Lip Scrub

Lush lip scrub - £5.25 - can be found here
This little pot of goodness has saved my lips these past few months! There's nothing worse than dry chapped lips (okay, so maybe there is, but just go with it..). It does exactly what it says on the tin - leaves your lips lovely and soft, I can't say the taste is 'delicious' but hey ho - you win some you lose some. If you've got dry & chapped lips I would highly recommend this. It doesn't break the bank and I reckon it'll last for ages as you need the smallest amount to scrub your chops with!

Ciao for now, Dimps xxx

16 February 2013

Review: Dr Jart Regenerating BB Cream

Dr Jart+ Regeneration BB Cream - £14 - can be found here

I've heard a lot about Dr Jart's waterfuse BB cream but not so much about this. I got this for Christmas and I'd specifically asked for the regeneration type as it claims to keep skin nourished and provide long lasting blemish coverage. If you read my blog you'll know I have quite bad skin that's extremely blemish prone, so I decided to opt for this as I thought it may offer more coverage than the other BB creams.
Its only available in one shade which made me a little wary at first, but luckily it's rather light so it suits my fair skin really well. It's quite a thick consistency but it blends nicely. It gives a lovely dewy look to the skin, and whilst natural looking it still covers redness and most blemishes. I still have to dab a little concealer on for extra coverage but on a whole it does cover my skin well, especially considering its a BB cream. I'd previously tried out a maybelline BB cream which I really did not rate but this has successfully changed my mind on BB creams!
What's your favourite BB cream?
Dimps xxx

14 February 2013

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer


Rimmel match perfection skin tone adapting concealer - £5.99 - can be found here
 
I bought this on a complete whim a few weeks ago when I ran out of my favourite concealer and the only place near to me was a local tesco store (I was staying at my mums, who lives in the middle of nowhere in Scotland). It is a 2-in-1 concealer and highlighter that claims to 'banish signs of fatigue and illuminate the eye area, with an oxygen complex that let's skin breathe'.
 
I wasn't expecting much from this product, but I absolutely love it. I've used it everyday since and I'm pretty sure I will be repurchasing when it runs out. It glides on really nicely, it's quite liquid-y and so really easy to blend. It really does 'let my skin breathe'. It does a really nice job of highlighting, I tend to use this down the centre of my nose and on my under eye area. I have quite noticeable dark circle under my eyes and after running out of my holy grail product (bobbi brown corrector) I didn't think I would be able to cope, however whilst saving up the pennies to splurge on another I am dealing much better than I thought I would, and that's definitely due to this. I wouldn't go as far as saying it does just as good a job, but it does do a really nice job in highlighting and concealing my under eye circles (which can prove to be quite difficult after many late nights in the uni library - rock n' roll). Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised with the results, especially for a high street product that's on the cheaper side!
 
Have you tried this or have any suggestions for other good highstreet concealers?

13 February 2013

Malin & Goetz Acne Treatment

Malin & Goetz acne overnight treatment - £16.50 - can be found here

Although I do have quite problematic blemish-prone skin, I wouldn't say I have acne. This treatment however, has been an absolute god send the past few months. I don't use this every day, but if I'm going through a bad skin patch I dab a little bit of this onto a cotton bud and coat my blemishes in it. This works really well for under the skin nasties that you can't do anything with. It helps to reduce the size and redness of it really quickly. I wouldn't say it works completely overnight but after about two/three nights of using this my blemishes are significantly reduced, if not gone. The only downside is that it dries white on the skin (which is rather embarrassing when you wake up in a rush to answer the door to your postie..).
 
It has salicylic acid to exfoliate, sulphur to help dry the spot out, and zinc oxide to minimise scarring (which in my case is great because I have a real problem with scarring from past blemishes - even when they're no longer there, they are! Gah!).
 
I would definitely recommend this product, but when it runs out I plan to purchase origins super spot remover and give that a shot! Have any of you tried a product like this?

12 February 2013

2013 Beauty Resolutions!

Before you say it, yes, I am well aware it is now mid February and I'm mega behind in the times.. but it's better late than never, right?!

We all have things we would like to do more (or less) of, and start or quit in a new year. But this year instead of giving myself the usual 'lose weight' and 'exercise more' resolutions, I have given myself a few little resolutions specifically in regards to beauty. The first being a ban from buying any more lipsticks & nail polishes - towards the end of last year I went mad for lipsticks and my nail polish collection is never ending. This year in order to save myself some pennies and room I am putting a ban on buying any more until I have used some up! Lets call it a one-in-one-out policy.
 
Secondly, I need to wash my make up brushes more often. I've set myself the goal of once every week, on a day that I usually have free from work/uni.. For me that's a Monday. I tend to be so lazy with washing them, but there's no better make up day than when you put it on with freshly clean brushes! On a different note - do you have any suggestions with what to wash them with? I currently just use baby shampoo but I'm open to other ideas.
 
Thirdly, I've had a good clear out of products that I never use. I'm sure we all have certain shades in our collection that are beautiful in the tube but sadly don't look as nice once applied. In my case coral lipstick, I can't help but gush every time I see the beautiful shade but sadly it just clashes so badly with my ginger barnett! In cases such as this I've passed them on to friends who I know will suit them, this way it's a little easier to part with (I can't bring myself to throw away a perfectly good/untouched product - what a waste!).
 
& lastly, I want to up the umph in my hair care. So things like letting my hair dry naturally when possible, learning how to style my hair up rather than styling it with heat, and expanding my range of products (I really want to try morrocan oil this year!).
 
I can't guarantee I will stick to them religiously (with wicked new lip products such as Rimmels apocalips hitting the stores it may be hard to resist..) but I will try my very hardest to stick with them!
Have you made any changes in your beauty and hair routines this new year?
Ciao for now, Dimps xxx

11 February 2013

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer

Clarins instant smooth perfecting touch primer - £25 - can be found here

I've had this little beauty for about a year now and there is nothing I can really say about it that isn't positive. It aims to smooth over fine lines and generally create a really smooth base, and that's exactly what it does. It feels so lovely on the skin and it really does give the illusion of smooth, soft skin. It creates a great base for makeup and really helps my oily skin look less shiny and more matte. It's also wonderful for breakouts. I suffer from bad skin that is prone to breakouts and this product, in my opinion, helps to reduce the redness of them. I would highly recommend this to anyone, but especially those like me who have oily/combination skin prone to breakouts.

Sadly, my little tub is on its last legs. It's lasted me a long time so I can't really complain, but due to the rather hefty price tag and my lack of pennies (student problems) I am on the hunt for a more reasonably priced primer... If anyone has any suggestions please comment below and let me know!

Thanks, Dimps xxx