Wednesday 30 August 2017

9:09 pm 0

PAMPER TIME | GRACE & STELLA


So like everyone, I'm always on the lookout for new beauty, skin and body care products, I think there's just something about picking up  a new product, unwrapping and trying out its complete newness (is that weird, hmm). 

I've never thought about looking on Amazon for skincare, its my usual go to for cheap, super cool glitter and unique gifts, trust me you can find some great gifts on Amazon. The wackier the better, right? So when I came across this brand called Grace and Stella (cuteeee name right!). They have everything from mud masks to facial oils, everything you need for a perfect pamper night, and I loveeee a good pamper night, day, week! So I decided on buying the facial masks and the dead sea mud mask because I love a good ol' face mask, I was so surprised by the quality of the products. They were pretty pricey so I was a little apprehensive about how they would be, also whether they would actually be any good for my skin. 

Facial Masks 

So in the box you get a pack of 6 face masks ( I used one before taking these pics, hence there only being 5). These really reminded me of the Garnier tissue masks, they were super refreshing and really surprised me! It made my skin feel amazing and honestly I could of kept it on for hours, does anyone else go into slight shock when putting tissue masks on though, because they're so damn cold! I have slight dry patches on my skin and after using just one of these masks I could notice how softer and hydrated my skin felt. As I've only used this once I'm going to do a little update on my twitter in a couple of weeks time to see how I'm getting on with them!

Check it out here: (similar) Face Masks

Dead Sea Mud Mask

I've never got on with mud masks because I've always found that they completely dry out my face, which is not a good look. So yeah at first I was thinking 'Gina why are you buying a mud mask, you know you don't like these' but I felt like I didn't want to tar every mud mask with the same brush (I just realised how weird that sounded, but it made me laugh so). So I went ahead and purchased it, when it arrived it came in these sweet little box and the jar itself is so professionally made. I coated this over all of my problem areas: cheeks, nose and chin and let it dry, it smelt really good which was a nice surprise. So after leaving it on for 5-10 mins I washed it off and patted my face dry, the areas I had covered actually felt moisturised and smoothed out, my skin overall felt really fresh and new. It also made it easier for me to apply my makeup after using it as it made me skin felt smooth, making my foundation easier to apply. I really like this mask and the amount you get in the jar is super good, so I know its going to last me a while!

Check it out here: Dead Sea Mud Mask




Thanks for reading my lovelies, leave me a comment on what you thought!

Wednesday 23 August 2017

5:37 pm 0

SILICONE WHAT?! | SILICONE MAKEUP SPONGE REVIEW

I was so curious about trying out this sponge because I've heard such mixed reviews, the good, the bad and the damn right terrible! I also had no idea how to actually use the sponge or whether it would be any good with my foundation, so I picked up this silicone sponge from a beauty outlet and for £1.99 I wasn't too bothered if it didn't actually work out! So I moisturised and primed like usual, because the sponge was so smooth, I thought my makeup foundation was just going to be dragged around my face in a streaky mess! I used my Revlon Colorstay foundation (this is the foundation I use when I'm tanned, I LOVE it!), I started of with the smallest amount as I didn't want to coat it on and look cakey. 

   The application was surprisingly so smooth, my foundation looked really good and there weren't any streaky lines or patches. Another great thing that I noticed was that all of the product that you used with the sponge actually went on your face instead of being soaked up by a beauty blender or a foundation brush, as its also pointed its great for getting into the corners of your eyes or around your nose when using both foundation and concealer! 

I will say though, that it did take longer to apply my base makeup with this rather than my beauty blender, maybe because I was being extra cautious with it making sure to cover all areas and constantly checking in the mirror to see if there were any streaky lines! Oh the pressure we feel when using a new product! (Especially when you're using a piece of silicone to blend your foundation in, hahaha!) 

It says to only use the sponge with wet products, which I definitely agree with as I feel like it could make your face look cakey when used with powder. 

It has definitely surprised me and I'm quite excited about using it more, I'm definitely a beauty blender girl so will be sticking with that for most of the time but I'll definitely be using this sponge more often! 





Have you tried a silicone sponge? If so what did you think of it? 

Saturday 19 August 2017

6:17 pm 0

OGX MOROCCAN SEA SALT SPRAY | REVIEW + HOW I USE IT

I've always been a fan of sea salt sprays and I've tried so many over the years. As its summer I get so lazy with my hair and just want something that's quick, simple and makes me feel cute! I love straightening and curling my hair but when its warmer I don't really want to be using hot tools on my hair. So sea salt spray is great for when you want that tousled, undone look in literally seconds. 
I spray mine on when my hairs both wet and dry, when I've just got out the shower and washed my hair, I'll towel dry it and then spritz the sea salt spray onto my hair and blowdry it or let it dry naturally (if I'm not in a rush) and I'll end up with messy curls, when its dry I do the exact same, I'll just scrunch up the ends of my hair to create natural looking waves. This particular sea salt spray is great because it comes in such a huge bottle and it was only £3, I love it because it smells really nice and doesn't leave my hair feeling crispy like some salt sprays do. It creates really pretty waves and keeps its hold for the whole day. One thing I did find with this bottle is that its quite hard to hold and because its such a smoothly shaped bottle it kept slipping out of my hands haha!! Overall though its definitely become my favourite hair product at the moment! 

Let me know your current fave hair product! 






Sunday 6 August 2017

3:20 pm 0

NEW PRODUCTS I LOVE



 NYX VIVID LINER | PETAL 

I've wanted to try the NYX Vivid brights liner for ages, I couldn't decide what colour to choose from because they're all such pretty colours! I picked petal because pink is deffo my colour, I feel like this liner makes me want to up my eyeliner skills! I was so excited to try it and see what looks I could create with it, I was a little curious on how easy it was to apply because eyeliner definitely isn't the easiest thing to use! I started off with quite a basic eye, primed and used a nude eyeshadow to cover my eyelid and honestly the eyeliner glided on and its so bright! Its so pretty on and has easily become my favourite eyeliner. I have so many ideas that I cant wait to try out with this liner and I am definitely purchasing more colours!

BARRY M CORRECTING CONCEALER | GREEN

I always get excited when I buy new Barry M cosmetics, I've never thought of trying any of their face products before. Especially the corrector concealers, so I chose the green corrector that covers any redness. As I sometimes have trouble areas with my skin I thought this would be the best one to pick, they also have 'Terracotta' and 'Yellow' which both cover dark circles under your eyes and 'Purple' that brightens your skin. They retail at £4.49 which is very reasonable considering other correcting concealers are a lot pricier! It covers really well and takes some of the redness away before I apply my foundation and concealer. It blends really well and doesn't feel heavy or clogging on the skin. One thing I will say though is that it is quite sheer when you first apply so I do find that I need to apply a little more over the top just to completely cover it. I really like the design of the packaging, it's funky! 

Let me know if you've tried any of these products out!

Gina x

Tuesday 1 August 2017

8:27 pm 0

FESTIVAL ESSENTIALS

If you lovelies are anything like me then you always take too much stuff away with you, especially to festivals! I always worry that if I don't take it all with me that I'm bound to desperately need something that I haven't brought with me! So I had a good think and tried to narrow it down to some of the basics that every gal should take. Obviously there are a few things missing that you would take but this is a great starting point if you have no idea what to bring along with you!


Suncream and Aftersun


First things first, even if the weather forecast says torrential rain, take some suncream because its surprising how sun burnt you can get even when the sun is out for 5 seconds! I use Malibu kids suncream in factor 30 because I burn so easily, I like the mini tubes because if you're only going for a couple of days its all you really need and this was only £1 from Poundland!


I then have my saviour, Aloe Vera after sun! This is so cooling and leaves your skin feeling so moisturised and not so dried out from the sun!

One of the most important festi essentials is this Malibu Scalp Protector! It's genius and has honestly been my saviour, its a clear suncream that you can use all over your scalp and hair to protect the skin as its more prone to sunburn. Its amazing and doesn't leave your hair feeling greasy or heavy it doesn't even feel like you have it on! Its also so great for when you do your glitter roots as the glitter can sometimes irritate your scalp making it uncomfortable especially when its burnt. I spray the areas of my scalp that are most exposed before and after I apply glitter!

Wet Wipes


So festival toilets aren't the prettiest and forcing yourself to go in one is definitely a chore. I always carry a pack of Halo toilet tissue with me in my bum bag for when I'm desperate for the loo! Not only are they great for when you need to do the business but you can always use them to wipe the toilet seat before you take a seat! They're so handy as they come in a travel size packet great for fitting in your mini backpack or bum bag!


Setting Spray


I don't know about anyone else but I always worry that my makeup is going to slide half way down my face after a couple of hours of dancing! So I knew I needed to find a setting spray that would keep my makeup looking cute! I picked up this Barry M mist and fix setting spray and I am in loveee, it leaves your skin feeling super hydrated and your makeup looks dewy and fresh, I can't wait to take it with me and see how it holds up in the festival atmosphere!



Shampoo

So I HATE washing my hair at festivals because you can either never use the showers they provide or you have to sit in a deck chair and have cold water thrown over your head in order to try and wash it. So when I discovered this towel off shampoo by Zerreau, I was excited and less anxious about washing my hair! Its so great because you apply it to your hair, massage it in and towel it off and your hair is washed! I mean this is just the miracle product, I'll be taking this with me for all my travels! 

Nail Varnish

I always have to have a good glittery nail varnish with me, especially if I'm not wearing false nails. I love this purple glitter nail varnish from Barry M called 'Fashion Icon' (loveee the name!) I usually use 3 coats of it to get super glittery nails! 

Face Glitter

Honestly I would feel lost at a festival if I didn't have my glitter! And this year I'm taking face gems with me too to cover my whole face!! I always take a few different small pots of glitter with me so I have a few choices when I do my makeup! 

Let me know what your festi essentials are!

Gina x