2015 Worst Skincare Buys!

To follow up on my post of skincare products that worked amaze for me, I wanted to do a post on products that did not work so well. Just because they didn't work for me doesn't mean they wont work for you, they just didn't for me.

1. Estee Lauder Take It Away

This is a cleanser to remove all makeup. When I say all makeup the lady on the counter stressed said ALL makeup even water resistant makeup. At the time I was using Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation and the lady said it will get it off with two pumps. This did not work for me, maybe it was just my skin type I don't know but I had to use a ridiculous amount. Even when it looked like I had got everything off when I toned with a cotton pad makeup would still come off onto the pad. This didn't easily take my makeup off or cleanse my face and after my skin didn't feel fresh or clean. It has good reviews on the Estee Lauder website so who knows but sadly its a no from me.  

2. Estee Lauder Clear Difference Advanced Blemish Serum 

Ok so this is gunna seem like i'm bashing Estee Lauder but I bought a load of their skincare stuff and a few things just didn't work on me and I do love a lot of the products they have. I used this product for 6/7 months using up two bottles that cost around £60 each. When I first started using this the first 3 months I thought wow this is amazing it's really helping and i'm not sure if that was just because I wanted it to work so bad. It has a primer texture and is super silky on the skin. It claims to reduce blemishes, breakouts, prevent new ones and stop the breakout cycle. It only contains 0.5 salicylic acid which basically isn't gunna do shit for people with more than moderate acne. I didn't see a difference in my skin and for me it wasn't worth how much it is. 

3. Estee Lauder Clear Difference Advanced Targeted Blemish Treatment

The targeted blemish treatment did work pretty well on my spots but it's £26 for 4ml thats right... 4ml I was going through one a week. It contains alcohol which irritated my skin a little also alcohol should not be in your skincare products because it impairs the skin's ability to heal.

3. Origins Super Spot Remover

This is a targeted treatment for spots, it didn't completely do nothing but it just irritated my skin more than it helped my spots. Also It comes in a tiny 10ml bottle for £15 which is pricey for how much you get. 

Everyone hates wasting money on products that just didn't do the job so one thing I love to do now before I buy a product is to ask for samples most places will happily do it. When I went to Origins the sales assistant was more than happy to give me a few and she gave me enough that would last me a week so I could see if they worked for me, so don't be afraid to ask for samples. 

Another thing I like to do is look the product on http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia this website will tell you if the product actually works and has all the research and information to back it up. It'll have a product rating, info on ingredients, whether its tested on animals, pro's and cons and lots more.  

xo

2015 Best Skincare Buys!

As 2015 is coming to an end I thought I'd write a post on skincare products that have really worked for me in 2015.

1. Clarisonic Skin Cleanser 

This by far is the best thing i've got in 2015. It has completely up'd my skincare game and my skin has never been better. Though its pricey it's 100% worth it. I got mine from boots for £155 but if you look online theres bound to be somewhere doing £££ off. My friend even bought hers off depop or something for cheaper of something off a girl who'd only used it twice so don't let the price tag make you run a mile. There is the maintenance of replacing the head every 3 months & these are around £20 so just think of sacrificing a top or whatever you wanna buy every 3 months!

As someone who's always struggled with problematic skin i'm always on the hunt to find products to help clear it. Within 3 months it had cleared up nearly all my spots and even helped reduce my acne scaring.

2. Dermalogica Clearing Skin Wash

Unfortunately this is another pricey one but in the past 3 years this is the best acne clearing product i've used yet. I've always heard things about dermalogica just never thought to give it a go and this is something il repurchase again and again. It's really cleared my skin up, Il pump a lil pea size onto my clarisonic a little does go along way so it can last you a long time. If you're unsure they do great mini kits for specific skin types which i'm pretty sure have all the products you'll need like a cleanser, toner, moisteriser, exfoliator and targeted products. I haven't personally tried the starter kits but I know someone who has and she says it lasts her 3 months.

3. Acnecide Gel

When I got the face wash from Dermalogica I bought their Overnight Clearing Gel which was about £40. £40 for some gel makes me feel a little sick but I thought hey ho if it works however it was mediocre compared to the acnecide gel my mum brought home. This is only £10! My mum got mine from the pharmacy in boots. I'd put this on my spots within a day or two they would go down in size and be gone within the week. It dried my skin out a fair bit when i first used it but my skins used to it now. If you put too much on it can make your skin dry & flakey almost burns your skin so don't think piling more on will make it work faster.  

4. E45 Moisturising Lotion

This is quite a weird one to think to use on your face. I was using ESPA's balancing moisteriser, I got discount off ESPA products when I worked in a spa so it wasn't too bad I loved it but when it ran out I just couldn't see myself spending £40 on a moisteriser. In the midst of searching for a new moisteriser I used E45 morning and night not like slathering it on just a little amount and to my surprise it doesn't break me out, sits well under my makeup and hydrates my skin (which I need from all the acne treating products i'm using). I'm pretty sure this is under a fiver too which is a bonus, why spend more if I have to!

Having a skincare routine, keeping at it and never sleeping in makeup. Also changing my pillow case more than usual and cleaning my makeup brushes on the regs to make sure theres no bacteria build up have helped my skin so much this year. 
Next year I wanna start using SPF religiously it's so important to protect your skin from free radicals and I'd also like to try out facial oils. Apparently the facial oils from the body shop are nice so Il have to give them a go :) 

I haven't come across a face mask this year that I love *sad face* please comment if theres any you're loving atm or any skincare products that you've been loving in 2015! xo

Colour Theory in Make-up

One of the first lessons I learnt starting my media makeup course was about colour theory and colour correcting. Bare in mind I started my degree a couple weeks late... oops!

In uni we had slideshow and explanation on colour theory but when it came studio practice I realised id be using the laws of colour theory every time I do someones make-up. It’s so basic to have this knowledge and to use it to on your clients to create make-up looks best suited for their skin tone, hair and eye colour. Not only is it used to compliment these, colour correction can also be used to disguise skin imperfections such as dark circles and blemishes etc. Happy days...

Colour correcting works by cancelling out unwanted colours on your face. To cancel out a colour use your new best mate the colour wheel, look at the colour you want to correct and whichever colour is opposite is the one you will use to cancel out the unwanted colour.

So say you have a big red spot on your face that is still visible even after caking on your concealer or foundation. Opposite red on the colour wheel is green. Grab a green concealer (I use LA Girl Pro Conceal in Green Corrector) apply it onto the red area's I like to use a concealer buffer brush to do this, then when applying foundation press it on top on the area's where you've applied concealer, using a beauty blender makes this step tons easier. If you rub or swirl your foundation into your face you'll just wipe off the hard work you've done to conceal your redness. For colour correcting to cancel the other colour out they must be on top of each other. If that makes any sense?

When doing someones eyeshadow if you want to make their eyes pop grab your colour wheel and again whichever colour is opposite use that, it's the contrast between the two that makes it look bold. Another way to use colours to compliment someones eyes is whichever colours are on either side of their eye colour on the trusty colour wheel.

People have different skin tones as a make-up artist I should be able to identify what tone they are in order to match the correct foundation and concealer to their skin tone. Using the wrong tone of foundation will accentuate colours that won’t compliment their skin tone. For example using a warm tone foundation on someone with cool tones will make them look orange and visa versa using a cool tone foundation on a someone with warm tones will make them look greyish! We've all deffo seen someone out and about with orange streaky foundation... its a no from me.

This is the fruits of my labor from this lesson. I got to work on my bestie Nessa, which made it even more fun. I was grabbing her head, blowing excess products off her face and basically annoying her. Things you probably shouldn't do as a MUA ;)

Before colour correcting. LY NESS

Colour correcting using the Zoeva 142 Concealer and Buffer Brush to apply and blend in the LA Girl Pro Conceal in the shade Green Corrector.

After foundation and eyeshadow application! Im pretty sure I used a mixture of Mac Studio Fix and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer. For the eyeshadow I used the Zoeva Cocoa blend palette & Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade on the brows.


So this is the end to my first uni related post which is probs full of loads of grammar and spelling mistakes but oh well :)

J xo

Dirty Looks ○ Oh My Ombre ○ Hair Extensions Review

So... I really wanted to write a review on these Ombre Extensions as before buying them I could hardly find any reviews or videos and was unsure on whether to take the plunge! 

These extensions are from Dirty Looks they were £129.99 (not including shipping which is pretty annoying for the price) I got the Quad wefts in 20-22 inch in the shade 'Oh My Ombre" and they are 220g of Remy Human Hair.

The packaging
Theres one tester weft to see if the colour matches your hair so you can return them as long as you don't open the other side!

The extensions

I've always turned to Dirty Looks when buying extensions. The quality is amazing, they are thick from top to bottom, quick delivery & they last forever! However I found the ombre colours just didn't blend into each other, not sure what I was really expecting and was deffo abit optimistic hoping that it'd look like balayage hair panting where it blends so beaut!  

Here they are in my hair! On the left is indoor lighting with no flash and on the right with flash.

Obviously I don't have ombre hair and i feel like if i did they would blend better. I wanted to try these as I fancied a change but didn't want to dye my hair, was worth a go! 

Some friends said they blended and one didn't, i'd definitely be too paranoid to wear them out and about so i'm deffo gunna be dying these brown when i can be bothered haha. 

I'd give these a miss unless your hair is pretty much the same colour ombre and you want some length and thickness! Otherwise I'd just go to the hair dressers and get it done there :) 

Hope this has helped anyone who's thinking about getting these extentions! 

xoxo