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Night Time Skin Care Routine Currently

I already spoke about my current day time routine here. It’s only fair that I throw my night time skin care routine into the mix too 🙂

I am very proud of being someone who removes their makeup every night before sleep. No matter how tired (or typsy) I might be. For me, it’s like brushing your teeth, it just has to be done! I am not really one for makeup wipes. If I am feeling really lazy, I’ll use eye makeup remover and micellar water and call it a day. But for the most part, I like to actually wash my face.

This for me, is my current night time skin care routine. I do change up products every now and then. It’s of course part of what I do. I don’t have majorly sensitive skin either so it usually doesn’t affect my skin too radically.

I do like to extra exfoliate a couple of times each week. I’ll usually use the Waxperts Wonder Pads (which I reviewed ages ago here), or the Dermalogica Daily Resurfacer Pads. These contain AHA’s so I stick to using them at night.

If I have a breakout I use the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, which I have a review of here. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it seems to do the job. And it dries down on the skin, so you don’t get it all over your pillow which is a bonus in my book 🙂

I wear waterproof mascara on the daily, so before I wash my face I usually remove my eye makeup with an oil based cleanser.

I have been using the Botanics All Bright one for literally years. It does a great job at getting even gel liner off without too much rubbing. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and it’s as cheap as chips. You can buy it from Boots here.

For cleansing, at the moment. I have two in my bathroom. The Garnier Pure Active 3 in 1.

This can be used as a face wash, to exfoliate or a mask. I usually use this in the shower. I can wash my face with it and then pop some on as a mask while I go about my business. It is kaolin based so it dries on the skin like a clay mask. It’s been working really well for my oily skin.

If I am just washing my face and not showering I have been using the Yonka Cleansing Gel. This feels really gentle on my skin.

It is also like a spa in a plastic bottle, it smells bloody amazing.

For toner, it’s generally just the La Roche Posay Serozinc which I speak more about here. I always have a bottle of it in my skincare stash.

I use the same eye cream both day and night. My go to one over the past year or so is the La Roche Posay Ultra Toleriane Ultra Eye Contour.

I really like this stuff and it’s not super expensive either. I have a full review of it here.

Because I cannot get too heavy with moisturiser during the day because I am so oily. I usually make up for it in my night time skincare routine.

At the moment I am using (and really enjoying) the Hylamide Low Molecular HA Booster.

It’s basically a serum that contains hyaluronic acid. It helps hydrate without weighing down the skin. It’s an extra step in my routine but my skin is reacting well from it. My skin is feeling a little plumper and more hydrated without my pores being clogged up. You can buy it directly from the Deciem website here.

After that settles in, I apply a light layer of the Image Vital C Hydrating Facial Oil.

It just feels so nice. I pat a dropper amount into my face and neck. Although I am oily, I do have areas of dehydration so I use the serum and the oil in the evening to help with that. The Vital C is formulated for dull, tired skin but also suitable for acne prone skin that is healing. Image skincare is stocked in salons throughout the country including Millie’s here.

The final step in my night time skin care routine then is just lip balm. I usually just use some Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream.

I have a full review of this here.

And then my night time skin care routine is completed and I am ready for bed 🙂

xxx

March 27, 2017/by Gem

Skincare

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

If you watch American beauty Youtubers like me, the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion will be familiar to you.

Or,if you’re a Kylie Jenner fan, you’ll have seen her rocking her Mario Badescu Drying Lotion over on her Snapchat. The skincare brand is pretty well known over in the States. They have been established since 1967 and do a whole host of products.

The Drying Lotion is formulated to dry out surface spots on the skin. It contains Calamine as the fifth listed ingredient. We, of course would use calamine lotion in the treatment of chicken pox. It also contains Glycerin and Salicylic Acid, but they are lower down on the list. Good to note that it is cruelty and paraben free too 🙂

As you can see the Marion Badescu Drying Lotion comes in a 29ml glass bottle. The solution is split. You have the liquid and then there’s a pink sediment (which I presume is calamine) on the bottom.

To use, you dip a cotton bud straight down into it. This coats the swab with the mixture. You don’t shake or mix it up. Then, you just dab the solution on any blemishes you might have. It dries down and you leave it overnight.

It will take a while to get through the solution you use very little, but I presume, as it depletes it will be harder and harder to get to the product on the bottom. It may end up a little messy. You can already see mines a bit worse for wear!

It has quite a strong medicated scent and be warned if you use it on broken skin it will sting the bejesus out of you! I do find it does what it says on the tin though. I have been using this a lot over the last couple of months. I am prone to breakouts so I have had plenty to practice on. The solution does dry out active spots. It is not a miracle cure, nor does it claim to be. But, it will make your spots a little less, well spot like and sore 🙂 I like it too because it dries down so it doesn’t end up all over your pillowcase and it’s targeted so you’re not adding ingredients that dry out your skin all over your face where you might not need it.

Overall, the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion gets a thumbs up from me! I got mine from Beautybay for €16.30 online here.

Have you tried it?

xxx

September 30, 2016/by Gem

Archives, Bargain Buying, Makeup

Budget Undereye Concealing with Flormar & Catrice

I gave first impressions on both of these products that were new to me together over on Snapchat (I’m ‘Beautynook’ over there) a couple of weeks ago and I’ve used them that way everyday since.

They are the Flormar Perfect Coverage Concealer and the Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer. Both of these concealers were under a fiver individually. I bought them both respectively to try but realised I really like using them together, so that’s why they are getting a joint review.

Now I know you’re thinking Gemma, why are using two products to conceal your lovely under circles? That’s a great question thanks for asking 🙂 Let me show you.

When using the two of these for concealing I use the Flormar Perfect Coverage first.

I picked up the shade 01 Fair Ivory and it works well for my Mac NC20 skintone.

I like the applicator on this product too. It has like a paddle shaped doe-foot applicator, that works really easily under the eyes.

My under eyes without any concealer on (I do have foundation on though) looks a bit like this.

You can see I definitely have some blue tones under there as well some pigmentation.

I use the Flormar Perfect Coverage first because it has a salmon tone to it.

And then I blend it in using whatever synthetic brush I have to hand.

It’s really lightweight and easy to blend.

You can see the finished result here, it does it jobs well and conceals, without caking or looking too obvious.

Then, I pull out the Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer.

I got this in the shade 010 Porcelain, it is a pretty light shade, this is good for under the eyes as you want to highlight that area just a touch.

I pop a layer (or two) of this over top. It has a lightweight formula that blends easily into the skin, but still manages to do it’s job of concealing and brightening really well.

You can see this has more of a skin coloured tone to it. And I do the same, just blend it down in a triangle motion and then up across the tops of my cheeks with a synthetic brush.

By all means you can just use the Flormar Perfect Coverage on it’s own or even the Catrice Liquid Camouflage and be good to go. Separately they conceal well and do not crease under my eyes, as well as not settling into any fine lines or making any dry patches more apparent. I think alot of the cheaper brands struggle with concealer, so to have found two really good ones at the same time is a revelation!

I like using both these products together because, the Flormar works great for the pigmentation and darkness and then the Catrice really brightens the under eye area. Together they make me look more awake…and alive :p

It’s really love at first swipe for me with these 🙂 You can buy the Flormar Perfect Coverage from SimplyFoxy here or in any stockists around the country. The Catrice Liquid Camouflage is online here from Sam McCauley’s or again you can pick it up from stands nationwide including Penneys.

xxx

October 10, 2015/6 Comments/by Gem

Skincare, Tanning

Tanning with The Tan & Glove Your Body

I was lucky enough to the head of the launch of the newest Irish tan on the market a while ago. Simply named The Tan, It was created by the beauty powerhouse duo The Jenns who own the very gorgeous Vanity Rooms in Stepaside.

Let me start by saying…I bloody love this tan! I am down to the bare bones of this bottle of their Super Hydrating Liquid Gel Tan already.

Tanning if I’m honest is such a faff I don’t enjoy the process at all. The scrubbing, the application…the drying oh the drying. Standing on a towel naked with your arms and legs akimbo in the middle of your bedroom for 40 minutes waiting for tan to dry is one of the most annoying things to do in the world right?

Well I can honestly say you won’t have that problem with The Tan, it dries so quickly, I was astonished, five minutes and I was able to put clothes on without any transfer or sticky residue, hurrah!

So onto application.

My skin started out before showering with some left over tan on from the week before.

Here’s my lovely freckly Irish arm skin in all it’s glory 🙂

Before Using The Scrub Your Body Exfoliating Mitt

I used the Scrub Your Body Exfoliating Mitt from Glove Your Body, with the Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash which I reviewed here. I am loving this combo at the minute when I really want to scrub my skin. The mitt is is gritty but doesn’t pull the skin, and the body wash is lovely and foaming so together they do a great job of getting rid of all the dead skin cells and the remainder or tan or product you may have on your skin without stripping it completely. The Scrub Your Body will cost you €9.99 here

It’s not the most photogenic product in your beauty arsenal, but it does its job very well 🙂

After Using the Scrub Your Body Exfoliating Mitt

So next step is applying The Tan. I have been using the Glove Your Body Tanning Mitt to apply my tan for the last few weeks and I have to say I am really enjoying it.

Glove Your Body is another Irish owned company which is fantastic. The Mitt itself is quite big as you can see. Inside, it has little elasticated rings to hold all your fingers in place…I know pretty nifty right? It means your fingers can still grip but you have the handiness of a flat surface on the outside on the mitt itself. The Glove Your Body is really soft and can be used on both sides without any products getting through and ruining your hands. It is also really durable, you can just pop it in the washing machine and it comes out like new! It will set you back €19.99 but it will last you a really long time so I for one think it’s worth the investment.

I am not a professional tanner, I just dive in and hope for the best 🙂

So, I apply some of The Tan Super Hydrating Liquid Tan Gel onto my glove.

I find the Glove Your Body doesn’t soak up any of the product so you can do a little a time. I start from the bottom of my body up in small circular motions personally but whatever works for you is a ok 🙂

The Tan gel is tinted so it’s really easy to see which I love, as I am forever missing spots! After application, your skin will already have a hint of colour which is handy if you have somewhere to be straight away. The Tan is a gel formula so it doesn’t slip and slide when you apply it, it soaks in really quickly and you are left with soft non sticky skin.

After Applying The Tan

As you can see my pasty freckly arm already has a bit of colour, and that’s before development.

I tend to leave my tan on to develop overnight but you of course do whatever works for you skin.

The next day, my skin looks a bit like this.

The Tan The Next Day Before Showering

The Tan develops into a night golden tan with no streaks. I’ve applied The Tan now on my skin probably about six times, and it didn’t streak any of those times. When applying it has a nice watermelon scent. It does smell slightly when developing, but honestly I have never ever used a tan that doesn’t yet!

The Tan After Showering

After showering I am left with a nice golden colour much more pleasing to my eyes anyway then the pasty red toned skin after scrubbing 🙂 Some people were blessed with lovely porcelain white skin…I was not 🙁

The Tan Super Hydrating Liquid Gel Tan has lovely ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid, Shea Butter and Sunflower Seed Oil. The Jenns say this mix helps your tan fade evenly. I think it really does. I don’t find it goes patchy at all, if you stop using it and exfoliate it just disappears.

Overall, I am loving The Tan products. I use their Gradual Daily moisturiser too when I want to prolong my tan and like the Hydrating Liquid Gel it soaks in super quick and leaves you skin feeling soft.

If you don’t like to tan yourself, The Vanity Rooms also offer professional spray tan using their products, so you don’t need to miss out 🙂 Well done Jenns, you are a force to be reckoned with. The Hydrating Liquid Gel will cost you €19.99 and the Gradual Daily Bronzer is €14.99

Also, Glove Your Body is such a handy tanning tool as is the Scrub Your Body Exfoliating mitt, I am completely converted..

Take it from a tanning novice, these products combined do the job and do it well 🙂

xxx

July 20, 2015/2 Comments/by Gem

Skincare

La Roche Posay Serozinc Review

La Roche Posay Serozinc has finally hit Irish shores! Thank the lord! I have been waiting very patiently to get my mitts on this stuff. When I saw McCabes pharmacy say they had stock in their store in Swords, I trekked out and got it no questions asked 🙂 I’m a southsider!!! 🙂

Serozinc is a zinc sulphate solution for oily, blemish prone skin. Its also suitable for acne prone skin too. You use it just like you would a toner. Spray it onto your skin after you cleanse, leave it to soak in and you can pat any excess off, then moisturise as normal. These are the directions La Roche Posay give you.

I suffer with my skin. It goes into hormonal breakout every month and I already have oily skin to begin with. I find alot of products you can get for oily blemish prone skin can be great but really dry your skin out at the same time, which means you have to be careful with using them. I don’t find this with the Serozinc at all. I’ve been using it twice a day since I bought it and it has never dried my skin out. It has however calmed my spots and brought down their inflammation. I feel it has also helped with the texture of my skin. I have really seen a difference in the amount of comedones I suffer with i.e. whiteheads and blackheads…another lovely aspect of oily skin. I personally use it after I use the Pixi Glow Tonic in the evening which is an exfoliating toner, I adore this stuff too. I think the Serozinc adds a little moisture to my skin after using the more abrasive toner and they work really well together.

The spray itself applies really easily, it has a nice steady flow that you can control when you spray, it doesn’t scare you in the morning when you apply it…that has happened me with some similarly packaged products :p

In conclusion, I love the La Roche Posay Serozinc. It’s not going to save you from breakouts completely, but it will make them alot easier to handle. La Roche Posay really make fantastic skin care products. And the good news too is Serozinc will only set you back a tenner here in Ireland! It’s so worth it!!

Have you tried it? What do you use with it? I would love to know?

xxx

April 27, 2015/9 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Clarins Instant Concealer A Review

I picked up the Clarins Instant Concealer after seeing so much positive feedback on it in the blogging community.

There may not be many of us around but I am definitely one of the few people who did not get the hype about the Nars Creamy Concealer. I found it hard to blend and kind of drying to be honest. So I did buy the Clarins Instant Concealer hesitantly as it seemed to be the next big thing in under eye concealers since the Nars offering.

I can report…I bloomin’ love it!! I picked up the shade 01, which was hard to get a hold of actually so there must be lots of pale gals like me throwing it into their baskets.

I find this a very good shade match for my skintone. The concealer itself I would describe as dense but very workable. You can slap it on both eyes and will have plenty of time to blend it in without worrying about it setting too quickly. It does set though, you are not left with shiny under eyes that need an abundance of powder.

The coverage of the Instant Concealer is really great. I can even bring it down around my nose and find it covers flaws and large pores. It has really great staying power too. This concealer highlights even paler skin like mine. As you can see below, it does brighten my under eye area as well as conceal.

Before Application

After Application

I know I don’t suffer with huge under circles, but I do have some darkness as well as pigmentation and freckles. A small amount of the Instant Concealer gets to grips with this very easily.

I am really impressed overall with this product. Clarins is not a brand I find myself reaching for much when I am in the market for new makeup, but I think I will be making more time for it in the future.

A 15ml tube of the Clarins Instant Concealer will set you back 25 euro in Brown Thomas, Boots or alot of leading pharmacies.

xxx

April 7, 2015/1 Comment/by Gem