*Pamper Products Wish List

Since I started learning to drive last month with the theory test, which isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I've been really stressed and tried so I haven't been having pamper nights at all. I'm usually good at keeping on track with regular face masks, hair masks and pampering but my skin is definitely suffering from a lack of pampering.

Also with summer almost here, I need to start pampering ASAP and in my mind that means a shopping spree *I'll take any excuse*. Here's my pamper wish list:

Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Rollerball (£16)  -  Aromatherapy Associates Perfect Partners (£19)  -  Bliss Hide & Glow Sleek Tinted Body Spray  -  Bliss Hot Salt Scrub  -  Kure Bazaar Nail Polish  -  Bliss Cassis and Sandalwood Body Butter

I have tried a few products from both Aromatherapy Associates and Bliss World, all of which I have loved. The Bliss orange and white pepper body butter is just gorgeous and their firming/slimming range sounds amazing so I definitely want to give it a go! This is a collaborative post with Bliss World.

What products are on your wish list? What are your favourite pamper products? 

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Sukin Skincare ft. My Pure

I find it so difficult to find skincare products that suit my sensitive, dry and temperamental skin but thanks to my blog, I've been able to find quite a few brands that I freakin' love including: Antipodes, Rodial, Supermood and now Sukin.

*Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner (£8.12, 125ml)

I love facial mists and spray toners so obviously I chose this product to review and I haven't tried anything from Sukin's skincare range but I always hear great things so I wanted to try it for myself. The toner contains chamomile and rosewater to soothe the skin and it doesn't contain parabens or alcohol, the latter can dry out the skin which is not what my already dry skin needs.

It can be used as a toner or as a facial mist and I've been using it both ways, although while I really like the product, I wish the spray was finer as it can be like being in a water fight when I use this! The toner smells so nice, it's refreshing and it doesn't irritate my skin at all which is fantastic. I can't recommend it enough, as I said the only negative is that the spray isn't very fine. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5.

*Sukin Calming Night Cream (£16.28, 120ml)

As well as facial mists, I also love trying out night creams as my skin can sometimes be so dry that I have to use a serum and a night cream during the day. The night cream contains rosehip, aloe, cucumber, evening primrose oils and lots of other fantastic ingredients. It doesn't contains parabens, SLS, fragrance, mineral oils or any other nasty ingredients that some skincare can. The company is also against animal testing and the products are 100% vegan!

The night cream is thick but it applies easily and it absorbs so quickly which I wasn't expecting. I have quite a few night creams and thicker day creams but none like this as it is so fast absorbing and it doesn't leave a heavy or greasy residue on the skin as most can. It's very moisturising and smoothing but it leaves my skin looking like skin, not a greasy mess. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5!

Have you tried anything from Sukin? Have you bought anything from My Pure? 

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Book Review: Soft In The Head by Marie-Sabine Roger

Another day, another book review and this one was very kindly sent for review by the super lovely people at Pushkin Press! I thought that I was more of a fantasy, mystery, magical realism and classic book reader but I actually think I'm more of an eclectic reader as I loved this book. So if like me you don't think a genre is particularly for you, just give it a go and you might be pleasantly surprised. 

His mother called him a worthless halfwit while his fellow drunks at the local bar ensure he's the butt of all their jokes. He spends his days whittling wood, counting pigeons and adding his own name to the bottom of the list on the town war memorial. So how could Germain possibly understand what a casual encounter on a park bench with eighty-five year old Margueritte could mean? In this touchingly comic tale of an unusual friendship, that first conversation opens a door into a world Germain could never have imagined-the world of books and ideas-and gives both him and Margueritte a chance at a happiness they thought had passed them by.

*Soft In The Head (£8.99) is Marie-Sabine Roger's first adult novel and the award winning translator is Frank Wynne. The book is 224 pages, it's published by Pushkin Press and it was adapted into the film, My Afternoons with Margueritte in 2010 which I'll definitely have to watch! 

The book follows Germain, a man who's life hasn't been a walk in the park...well a walk in the park with diversions, potholes, pigeons and a load of ungrateful and rude people but one day he comes across an elderly woman who changes his lives for the better. I loved the relationship between the somewhat naive and single minded Germain and the well read, sweet and intelligent Margueritte; their relationship is an unlikely one but it leads to a mutually loving and endearing friendship that demonstrates how books can bring people together and that you never know how new relationships could affect your life. The writing is quick and easy to read but it has a directness that I think shows the directness of Germain and I think it also shows life in a unguarded and raw form rather than sugar coating the more difficult and ugly parts of Germain's life. I read the book in a  day as it's such a quick read but the story will stay with me for much, much longer. I adored the ending, it was so incredibly sweet and I wish I could gush about it but I obviously don't want to give anything away. 

Overall, I love the cover and the writing style as well as the storyline, it's such a heartwarming and endearing story of the power of books, friendship and how you never know what life if going to throw at you, it might be the best thing that has happened. The book will be released on the 23rd June and I can't recommend it enough! Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5. 

Will you be picking up this book? What are you currently reading? 

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High End Lipstick Collection + Swatches

I have a large lipstick collection but they are mainly drugstore lipsticks but I do have a few higher end products from Shu Uemura, ByTerry, Mac, Bare Minerals, Burberry, L'Occitane and Nars! The swatch is on the left and the corresponding lipstick on the right! Mac 'Till Tomorrow' is pinker and lighter than it looks in the tube sadly - actually most of the shades look lighter on my lips than they look in the tube which is really annoying!

All of my higher end lipsticks tend to be nudes, rosy shades and peachy tones although Mac 'creme in your coffee' is the darkest, plum shade I have. My favourite shades from this collection include: Nars 'dolce vita', Mac 'till tomorrow', Shu Uemura BG930 and Burberry Lip Cover No.02 Cameo. The formula and texture of the Burberry lip covers/lip velvets, Nars velvet matte lip pencils and the Shu Uemura lipsticks are gorgeous. 

Do you have any of these shades? Do you like these type of posts? 

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Blogger Problems

Being a blogger can be, among other things, an amazing creative outlet, a fun and engaging hobby, a way of meeting new and like-minded people and it can also open so many doors, not only because of working with brands/PRs, reviewing products, receiving products before they are even available to buy *this is one of my favourite things and makes me feel so special!* and opportunities to write for brands/PRs or it could open new career options. However, as with many things in life, the positives come with negatives. Here are my #BloggerProblems:

1. So many photos: I mean this in terms of space on my iMac and also because I feel the need to take at least one hundred photographs of whatever it is and then I only use a couple of them. Hence the photographs above, including the ever present bloopers.

2. Spam emails: This is a big problem that I think most people face, if you have an email address that is. I don't know if the people/companies that send spam emails know how incredibly annoying and frustrating they can be. Example: "I've noticed you have a few spelling mistakes *quote/link from a post I wrote three years ago*, pay me X and I'll point out the mistakes"....delete.

3. Rude PR's: Now, I have to start by saying that 98% of the PRs that have contacted me or that I've worked with have been so incredibly kind, friendly and generally just so pleasant but there are a very small number of PRs that are so rude, expecting posts/links/advertising for nothing at all - it doesn't work that way, the relationship between brands/PR's and bloggers or freelancers should be an equal one.

4. Too much to write about and not enough time: Increasingly I have noticed more 'blogging tips' and 'blog post ideas' posts going around which I personally hate! But I don't understand the 'blog post ideas' posts as I am never without blog post ideas. I have so many post ideas, the thing I lack is the time and energy to write them all.

5. Making yourself heard: I started my blog back in 2012 when, to me at least, there were hardly any bloggers out there and bloggers very rarely worked with brands but now that is definitely a thing of the past. There are more and more bloggers every day, it seems, which is a good thing but it also dilutes the opportunities available and it makes it SO difficult to make your blog seen in a sea of other blogs. I think the popularity of blogging is a double edged sword as it is great that it is being noticed as a genuine and very popular form of information, advertising and advice but it is also making it harder for bloggers to be new, different and simply to be recognised.

There are just a few of the #BloggerProblems out there! Let me know in the comments below, what are the blogger problems you face? If you want other one of these posts, let me know and I'll write it as soon as I can! 

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April + May Beauty Favourites 2016

I haven't published a beauty favourites post for ages so this will be a culmination of my April and May beauty favourites...even though it's almost half way through June, oops! Some of these products are new discoveries and others are products that I've loved for a year or more.

Makeup 

My favourite product that I've discovered so far this year is the Vichy Dermablend Setting Powder which is probably the best setting powder I've ever tried. It is so lightweight but it helps mattify the skin without ever looking dry, caky or noticeable on the skin. It's perfect and I've been using it every time I wear makeup. Next up is another product I've been using constantly and I'm so surprised I haven't run out of it yet, as I use it so much, is the Max Factor Smooth Effect Foundation - I think it is discontinued but you can still buy it online. It's the best foundation I've come across, especially for dry/very dry skin, as it doesn't emphasis flakiness or dryness so naturally it's my go to foundation.

April and May have been great months for quick, easy and reliable products for me and the Benefit Gimme Brow is definitely all of those! I've pretty much run out of it but I can't part with it as it makes filling in my brows a few seconds job instead of it taking minutes. I want to try the Essence version so if anyone has tried it, let me know in the comments! My penultimate makeup item is the new(ish) Freedom Pro Studio Strobe Cream which is perfect for adding to your foundation as it is very subtle but it gives my skin a gorgeous natural radiance. Lastly, the Too Faced Hangover Primer which I received months and month ago and I've been using it consistency since then - it is a silicone free primer which is great for me as I don't like the feeling of silicone primers on my skin. It helps my makeup last and it doesn't irritate my eczema, win win.

I don't really have any body, nail, hair or fragrance favourites, apart from the gorgeous Bodhi and Birch Ylang Ylang Incensa Shower Gel and the Molton Brown Ylang Ylang Lotion but I'll talk about them more in the June favourites.

Skincare

I do have two skincare favourites though, the first of which is a long term favourite of mine, the Jurlique Balancing Mist which I sadly finished a couple of weeks ago and I definitely need another as the weather has been so hot recently which is so odd for Manchester and the Jurlique mist is the perfect refresher and hydrator. Lastly for my April and May beauty favourites, the Dermalogica Super Sensitive Shield which I'm surprised I like as much as I do because my skin can be a bit sensitive to SPF but it's fine with this. I do always tend to forget to apply SPF but I'm been using this in place of my primer on sunny days and even though I don't know if it's working, it feels good to protect my skin...if that makes any sense at all!

What beauty products have you been loving in April or May? 

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