ORIGINS CLEAR IMPROVEMENT MASK

I'm sure you all get tired of me complaining about how my skin is rather bad, but it seems that here we are again. But, I know most of you have heard the story (main characters: my face, and a ton of spots), sI ove I will just get onto the product that I have found to help me out a fair bit.

I love face masks, and when one promises clear skin, I'm all ears. The Origins Clear Improvement Mask has been on my wishlist for quite some time now, and when I got it in a trio last Christmas, I knew it would be love.

At first, I thought this would be a clay like mask, but when you squeeze it out and start applying the mask, it is like a thick gel, but then hardens after some minutes of waiting, but you don't get that cracking, clay effect which I actually like. I'm not sure whether this is meant to happen, or that my imagination has just run wild, but it almost feels a little warming on the skin once it is applied - correct me if I am wrong (I probably am).

The morning after using this, I feel like my skin looks much clearer. If you know me in person, you will know (Megan knows the best), that my skin looks much worse because I have awful scarring, and when you actually touch my face there are barely and bumps which is an annoyance. But this seems to reduce redness and the size of any spots I have and then any new scars (I have finally gotten over the fact that my old scars won't be going anywhere any time soon) and faded slightly too.

I think once I have finished this bottle, I will have to buy another, because using this weekly on Sundays just seems to get my skin ready for the upcoming week...

THE DRUGSTORE FOUNDATION BATTLE

For me, when it comes to bases, I have never ventured out into the high end area, because there are so many gems hidden in the high street/drugstore. I've put my 5 current bases into categories so hopefully you can find a foundation that is the best for you.

The Natural Base: In this category, I have 3 foundations which slot in. First up, probably one of my favourite foundations ever, which is Revlon Nearly Naked, which has a light-medium somewhat buildable coverage, that looks like skin, and is slightly dewy. I only have about 1-2 uses left out of this bottle so I'm holding onto it.
Then, we have Rimmel Match Perfection, which literally makes your skin look like silk. It is yet again a light coverage but can be built up to something a little heavier if you wish. The colour is a little dark, but because it is so natural looking, once blended down the neck it looks seamless.
The Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is one that got everyone a little bit excited when people started to rave about it. This is another light-medium coverage but I find it easy to build this one if I need a touch more coverage. I'll briefly touch on the scent - its gorgeous. Fruity goodness which makes you want to smother it all over your face.

The Glow-Getter: It's safe to say that most of you will have known which bottle was going to be slotting into this category. If you guessed the orange-lidded, shimmery stuff which goes by the name of Rimmel Wake Me Up, you get a round of applause. This has mixed reviews, and I am sitting on the fence. It is shimmery, but I have yet to experience the Edward Cullen look. The colour is what puts me off, this is about 2 shades too dark for me, and being the lightest shade in the range - it's slightly disappointing.

The One for Coverage: Revlon Colorstay. This is my third bottle of the stuff, and being someone with bad skin I like this a lot. But, nowadays in some areas (I had a crazy 'dry skin everywhere' week recently), it looks a little too heavy, but maybe I'm just not blending it enough. But with an hours wear or so, I think it fades evenly and looks a much more natural, but maintains the coverage.

Which one will you be going for? I think the Bourjois Happy Light is next on my wishlist, Not that I'm in need of a stock up...

CURRENT HAIRCARE FAVOURITES

Recently, for me, haircare is where it's at. I never used to care about what I used, but due to the fact that I am way too many weeks late on my regular cut (I'm going in two weeks though), I have been paying more attention to what I use on it.

My hair is very thick, and so it often gets dry at the ends, so whenever I use heat on my hair I will always go for a protectant prior to the curling, blow drying etc. and that is where the Lee Stafford Blow Dry Your Hair Faster Spray comes into play. This detangles, protects from heat damage, and supposedly allows your hair to dry faster, and I really, really like this.

Sometimes my hair can look a little on the greasy front in between washes, and so I need to use something to banish the oil. I used to love Batiste, but I just fell like it is very powdery and whenever I touch my hair in the day I have the powdery residue everywhere. But, the Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo is brilliant, and I would like to purchase the full size when this is finished. Full marks for the sleek packaging too.

I'm not a hair spray person really; I don't like the smell, and I hate the crispy look, but when it comes to styling my hair I need some sort of hold in there to get me through the day without my hair going cray. This Toni & Guy Extreme Hold Hairspray gets the hold on point, but without and crisp of crunch, and doesn't smell like stereotypical hairspray either. This is another that I would love to get my hands on the full size.

FInally, to banish my pesky dry and lacklustre ends, I use the got2b Oil-licious Tame & Shine Styling Oil religiously and it makes my hair feel like silk. I either apply this on damp hair after towel-drying it, or when it's dry, and sometimes if my hair is feeling extremely dry, I slather it on in both situations. This also has a lovely scent to it, and is a thin texture so your hair soaks it up, and you aren't left with any residue.

My next item on the wishlist? A good, deep conditioning hair mask, and a dry texturising/volumising spray...

UPPING THE MOISTURE

Even being an combination skinned gal, I love to amp up the hydration more recently than I ever used to, and my skin most definitely thanking me for it - shout out to Megan for complementing my skin while in our Business lesson. These are the products that have been seeing me through winter with that extra helping of moisture...

After reading my rave review the other week, I think you all know how I feel about the Origins Drink Up Intensive Masks, and these have been my ultimate go-to for any time when my skin is feeling a little lacklustre and needs some plumping, nourishing action.

For a cleanser, the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm* has been seeing me through the dull skin days (this 10ml mini is almost out), and you can almost feel your skin drinking up the moisture as you massage it into the skin - I feel a full size purchase coming on...

Then, there is the Dr Jart + Most Moist Water Sure Gel, which basically has the same function as Hydraluron in a pot in my eyes. I use this daily under my moisturiser. It is packed with hyaluronic acid which just does the best job at holding in all the moisture it can (it is known for holding 1000x its weight in water), and my skin has really been seeing the difference. I think that once this is run out, I will purchase the full size.

Finally, I have the Akin Unscented 24HR Moisture* which is a moisturiser that I use lightly in the day to offer hydration and a good base for my makeup, and then I apply it a little more generously in the evenings and I find it still offers enough hydration to last me throughout the night.

If you have any moisture boosting companions, so let me know in the comments... I am always open to new members in the skincare cupboard...

                                                        

MERUMAYA MELTING CLEANSING BALM

I am always buying new cleansers, but recently I have been into trying more oils and balms, and with one of my New Year's beauty resolutions being to purchase a cleansing balm, I was excited to see this mini of the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm* came through my letter box to give it a try.

So, this is a pretty thick balm like texture as you squeeze it out, and as you massage it into your skin, it melts down into an oil-like texture which emulsifies makeup really easily, and with a bit of water and a flannel your face feels so clean and plump after. This balm really nourishes the skin, but still doesn't leave too much of a residue on the skin.

For simply cleansing the skin rather than removing makeup, this does a great job too. It is really nice to rub in and just feels luxurious on the skin. I recently saw that Essie Button did a post on this a week or so ago, and she really likes it, and when one of my favourite bloggers likes a product, I know it is a good'un!

The full size of this is £14.50 so is no Emma Hardie price, which I think is nice to see on the market. You never know, I might buy myself the full size at some point....