LUSH SKINCARE ESSENTIALS

On a cold winters Day last December, I walked into Lush during my yearly last minute Christmas gift shopping spree. Little did I know, the products suggested to me would be life changing staples. Lush has a brilliant reputation in the UK and from what I've read, in the USA as well. I love lush, there is something so lovely about walking into a Lush store and being surrounded by beautiful products and smells. I was suffering from such awful acne last year and had reached the point where I couldn't find a gentle yet effective cleanser to tame my skin. The lovely sales assistant recommended that I try Ultrabland, a cleanser made from almond oil, rose water, beeswax and honey. 

This cleanser really is amazing, it is a god send. At the end of the day, I softly massage the product into my skin until my makeup has melted, I then take two large cotton pads soaked in warm water and wipe away any product from my skin. I have never experienced a cleanser so effective in removing makeup and dirt, it is such a lovely experience too! I love how spa like the product is, it is so soft and gentle with the skin, leaving a lovely feel to the skin. A lot of cleansers can leave your skin feeling stripped and dry, however, this leaves your skin dewy and moisturised. The pots contain more than enough product to last you weeks, a small amount will surprise you in terms of how much makeup it removes! I love the smell of the product, it's odd, nothing like I've smelt before! The consistency is so silky and soft, it feels lovely on the skin.

I have also been loving their Eu Roma Water which is a toner. The two main ingredients are rose water (to reduce redness and calm skin) and lavender water (to balance and soften skin). I apply this product after cleansing and every morning too. I love this product as it smells amazing and leaves me skin calm and soft, as it describes. I feel so refreshed after using this and my skin doesn't feel overly dry or striped! Using the Eu Roma Water is a very relaxing experience due to the smell and application, I either spritz my face and wipe with a cotton pad, or I will spritz the cotton pad directly.

I couldn't live without these two products, they really are staples in my skincare routing. I see so many posts and YouTube videos talking about high-end expensive skincare and these two just prove how over spending is not necessary. Using both of these products has contributed to taming my acne and looking after my sensitive skin. I am happy to have found such wonder products! It makes life that little bit easier!

RIMMEL LONDON NUDE COLLECTION

RIMMEL LONDON LASING FINISH LIPSTICK BY KATE NUDE COLLECTION | £5.49

I'm going through a bit of a lipstick addiction at the moment, then again, doesn't everyone go into lipstick overdrive in autumn? I decided to add to my nude lipsticks as I don't have that many.  For every day lipstick, I tend to use highstreet brands and Rimmel are the perfect brand. I refuse to pay over £10 for a lip product that is used daily and bound to run out faster. 

I decided on shade 45 because it's very similar to my natural lip colour. I didn't want a nude that would wash me out or that looked too obvious. I find that when I don't wear lipstick, my lips look flat and so a near to real lip shade is perfect for no-makeup makeup days. The wear of this product is brilliant, it lasts and doesn't look awful when it starts to wear. I love the packaging, the baby pink/peach with the classic Kate signature is so pretty! I love the shade as it's so pretty, very natural and perfect for every day use! It keeps my lips moisturised which is a huge plus, none likes dry lips! The only thing that I don't really like is the smell of the lipstick, I really can't put my finger on it but It's not my favourite! I am going to purchase another shade from this range, possibly a darker brown shade for days where I make more of an effort!

Let me know if you have tried this product and also if there are any other nude shades you could recommend! 

DOES CONTRACEPTION CAUSING ACNE?

When I was 16 I started to use contraception. As I was an extremely forgetful teenager, I went for the easy option: the implant. The implant is a thin rod embedded in your upper arm which releases progesterone over 3 years. This does three main things: it prevents the ovaries releasing an egg, thickens cervical mucus and thins the womb lining. All of these things working together prevents you from becoming pregnant.

I have had acne all through my teens and when I thought about it, it severely worsened during the time I had the implant. When I say acne, I don't mean a few spots, I mean sore, irritated red blemishes all over my face. I didn't really have a day without any spots, I always had painful skin and I would sit in front of the mirror crying and feeling useless. I began to do my research and found so many different sources telling me how the implant can increase acne. I am now 20 and having become suspicious of the implant, I had it removed. My local clinic provided me with a pill to continue using contraception, specifically, they recommended Cilest as it has been shown to reduce acne.

During the first week my skin began to clear up, I couldn't believe it. I was both relieved and annoyed that I had finally found the main cause of my bad skin. Obviously I can't blame the implant for my acne, however, it definitely had a huge impact. It has been two months since my implant was removed and my skin is absolutely acne free. I literally can't thank the skin gods enough, it's so nice to wake up without sore, red skin. I think that both removing the implant and starting to take Cilest have worked together to improve my skin. I had recently had acne scar removal procedures so it's nice to have less scarring too!

If you are suffering from acne I would definitely look into small things like this. Contraception becomes such a mindless task, especially when it's in your arm. I forgot the implant was in my arm and didn't even think it could be having an effect on my skin. I understand that this may not work for everyone, but it's definitely something to consider! A lot of people think acne is due to a bad skin routine, but I can guarantee you this is not the case. I cleanse, moisturise and treat my skin morning and night, using products raved about by others. It's simply not the case of washing your face, it's deeper than that.

Let me know if you have ever experienced anything similar? I tweeted about this topic during the summer and had lot's of feedback off other bloggers!

CAMEL COAT LOVE

New Look Camel Textured Boyfriend Coat £29.99 | ZARA Basic T-Shirt £5.99 | Topshop MOTO Black Joni Jeans £36 | ASOS LANA Pointed Lace Up Ballet Flats £28

Look at me acting like a fashion blogger! I have only ever done one post in the past about an outfit and I enjoyed it so much I thought I would have another go. I find fashion blogging to be so much harder in terms of photography as you have to set up the camera, pose for the camera and also take the photo. WHAT! I eventually got the hang of the whole thing and this is the outcome. For a first try on my own, I'm satisfied! 

I commute to university and I found the mornings were becoming uncomfortably chilly. I decided it was time to search for the perfect coat and I've found it. I was so happy to find this coat in New Look, its so comfy and warm! I love how casual it is and it literally can be thrown on top of any outfit and look good! I also appreciated the student discount which made this bad boy only £26! It's such a bargain seems as my last coat was £80+. shivers at the amount spent on clothing. Okay, £80 can get you a decent coat, I think coats are an investment and can last years if picked carefully, however, this coat is perfect and for the price I was over the moon. I like how it's such a laid back, casual style, yet it has such a smartness to it. 

I was in university when I wore this outfit so it was the everyday casual Joni Jeans (jeans owned by 99.9% of the country) and a basic Zara tee. For the shoes I chose to wear my lace ups because I am in love with them and tend to live in them nowadays. Although, I must admit I have started to feel the chill so must purchase some ankle boots ASAP. 

Let me know what you think! I hope to do some more fashion posts as they are a nice change from beauty posts! 

My #LumiaVoicesTrial*

When Microsoft contacted me to trial out the Lumia 930, of course I jumped at the opportunity. I have always been an iPhone girl and never really considered anything else, so I thought this would be an interesting product to review! Within a few days I had a parcel through the door and I won't lie, I danced with excitement. Now this won't be a technical review, it will be a review from a normal everyday girl. I won't be using advanced vocabulary, I'll just be chatting about how this phone fitted into my every day life. 

FIRST IMPRESSION

I was firstly met with a very slick and modernly designed box which instantly gave me a good first impression. Opening the box I found the phone, a usb charger, plug adapter and to my surprise, a wireless charger! I immediately turned the phone on and followed the simple start up instructions on screen.

LAYOUT.

The first huge difference I found with the Lumia 930 is the layout of the home screen. I am used to a macbook and iPhone so I was not familiar of this layout! At first the transition was hard to get used to but after a while I really started to appreciate the minimalist layout, a style that I try to apply to all aspects of life. The geometric design of the square tiles really satisfied me as I love things to be in line and look tidy, I also loved the ability to change the layout with no particular effort at all. I like that the phone offers two layouts in a way, you can have the tiles, or, you can slide left and view all of your apps in a long alphabetical list! 

CAMERA.

So let's talk camera. The camera presented within this phone is absolutely brilliant. The amount of detail picked up in the photos is like nothing I have experienced with a phone before. This said, the editing software available on the phone is also good for adding background blurring and basic edits to the highlights, shadows and tone. I found that I could take extremely clear photos and by clear I mean  you can zoom right in and the quality remains. I liked the camera options such as iso and focus, you don't usually get these advanced options on other phones. 

APPS. 

In terms of apps I was impressed with in built apps such as HERE Drive+ which was brilliant for directions. The calendar app is lay out in such a perfect way, I love the design of it as it's again minimalist yet still gives you all the information you need about appointments. One major app that I was oddly enthusiastic about was the alarm! For some reason the alarm tones on this phone woke me up gently and I didn't feel startled every morning! It seems odd to mention this but as a sufferer of anxiety, being woke up suddenly leaves me shaky for most of the day! 

SOCIAL APPS

As a blogger, I highly value social media tools such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I was able to download all of these apps on the Lumia 930, however, I do prefer them on the iPhone. The Instagram app on the Lumia is a beta version and does not allow you to use the full set of editing tools that are available on apple devices. I was not used to the layout of the twitter app and Facebook app, however, this wasn't a problem to me. Although the Instagram app was not what I was used to, I do believe it will improve in the future, as do all apps. 

CORTANA

Wow, so Cortana was my best friend for two weeks. In a comparison to Siri, it felt way more advanced. The flow of the speech is so impressive, it sounds like a friend on the phone. I found myself asking her to remind me to pick up certain ingredients when I reached the local shop, so when I got there I would receive a notification with my shopping list! Very impressive stuff! I also took advantage of the "Hey Cortana" tool which allows you to activate the app simply by saying those words! I like that the phone is always on call and you don't even have to touch it to use it, you could literally ask for a reminder to be made and it's done within seconds. 

SIZE

I enjoyed the size of the phone, it was useful for say taking photos and watching videos. I found it hard to get used to as my iPhone is much smaller and I can easily use it one handed. I unfortunately never got used to the size as it didn't fit in my coat pocket and again could not be used by just one hand. I do prefer a smaller phone, however, that is simply down to personal taste. 

SCREEN

The screen of the phone feels so durable, it doesn't feel like it's about to break or smash like my iPhone!! There are multiple options for screen adjustment in terms of colour tone and brightness which is a nice added detail, I like that this phone really has thought of every little thing to make a phone your phone. 

APPEARANCE 

The phone itself looks gorgeous as an accessory. At first I felt the bold choice of orange was quite a scary step, but I love it! It's different and it certainly does stand out, that's what I love about it. The phone has something very fashionable about it, the sleek finish, the materials and even the charger looks good!

CHARGER

Firstly, the charge on this phone is amazing it really does last all day. The charger is convenient as the pins move together on the plug to make transport easier. I absolutely love the wireless charger! It is really such a brilliant addition! It's perfect for popping on your bedside table or even your coffee table so that when you place your phone down it charges! The phone had a battery saving mode so that if the battery happened to be low, you could preserve the charge and make your phone last longer. 

NAVIGATION

I liked that there are three touch buttons at the bottom of the phone, as opposed to the one button found on my iPhone. The little back button proved a useful for retracing my steps. I liked the search button as it meant that I could find something out within a matter of seconds, it is so useful for when I am at university. 

CONCLUSION

I genuinely loved this phone. I found that I became very organised and felt on top of everything when using it. It has such a wide set of tools to help you conquer many aspects of your life. I would definitely buy this phone due to it's endless possibilities, it felt far more advanced than your average phone. I have to say, I miss Cortana so much! she was a brilliant addition to my everyday life! I also miss the camera, it was fantastic for capturing moments and taking Instagram photos for my blog! I was so sad to see the phone go after my trial, it will be deeply missed! 

*Although this product was gifted to me, all opinions remain my own

Revlon Lipsticks

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick ( Pink Pout & Black Cherry | £7.99

Ah, it's finally time to go into full blown Autumn mode. I thought I would kick off Autumn with some new lipsticks. I saw a deal in Boots where Revlon lipsticks were 2 for £10, obviously I am a sucker for deals so I purchased two. 

I have seen Black Cherry all over the internet, Essie Button looks absolutely gorgeous wearing it. It is a beautiful shade and is about as autumnal as it gets, it looks amazing with a smokey eye. I always look forward to wearing deep cherry shades as they tend to suit me most. They also make me feel pretty badass, I won't lie. I thought I would also purchase a shade that I wouldn't normally go for. Pink Pout is a baby pink shade which is probably more suited to spring/summer, however, it called out to me. It surprisingly compliments my pale skin and I love wearing it with curled hair and winged liner. 

The product itself is extremely long lasting and both have a gorgeous finish. The Black Cherry has a silky finish whereas Pink Pout is matte, the best of both worlds. It is so easy to apply as it glides right on, the pigmentation is perfect straight away. I absolutely love the sleek packaging which has a transparent top, allowing you to view the shade easily! The lipsticks feel very high end and the packaging definitely adds a luxury finish. 

I am very impressed with both of these Lipsticks and feel an unhealthy Revlon lipstick addiction coming on!!