Garnier BB Cream review

Good evening ladies,
                             
I am finally back from my holiday, I hope you had a great summer too and got up to loads of amazing things!
I thought it would be about time for another foundation review as when I was on my holiday, the only base make up I had were foundations- which is obviously not ideal for the hot weather.. which by the way was 40 degrees ;) So I went on a hunt to find a BB cream and stumbled across this Garnier BB cream. I thought the brand only did hair and skincare products so I thought I'd give it a go. I picked up the shade Light/Claire- there were only two shades and the other was for medium skin tones. I bought this in Poland for 19.99 zloty (which is only less than £4!)

Garnier BB Skin Perfector Oil Free - Light

The BB cream claims to mattify, blur pores and imperfections, even skin tone, moisturize and provides SPF 20. After testing it out for about a week, it definitely did do all of these things, it even had really good coverage which is unusual for a BB cream. It kept my face hydrated but matte at the same time, and I didn't need to even set it with a powder. However, it was disappointing that there were only two shades and the lightest isn't even that light because it oxidized on my skin and I could see that dreaded 'slag' line. Which is a shame because apart from the colour range, the BB cream is amazing.

Product rate: **** out of 5
Thank you for reading!

Marta xo

My Birthday Adventure In Brighton

Hello! I thought I would get a little bit more personal in this blog post, and I will show you a few pictures of my birthday in Brighton. So on the 21st June I was whisked away for a surprise day out, I had no idea where we were going until my family told me on the ferry from the Isle of Wight. They chose to take me there because I constantly went on about wanting to go there...

Of course there were selfies in the car during the two hour journey ;)

 The Lanes in Brighton were by far my favorite, the unique little shops were incredible and I felt like I was back in Spain!

 The English Breakfast at the Lanes was DELICIOUS!

I enjoyed my day there so much and I definitely want to be living there in my future! Everyone was so nice to me and my family, I also received a free Lush bath bomb from a worker there for my birthday, which was so lovely!

Marta xo

Evening 'All Out' Skincare Routine

Good evening girls! Almost every night I love to give myself a little pamper as it really calms me down and gets me ready for bed. I don't really do any skincare in the morning because of my laziness, oops, but I do  like to go 'all out' in the evenings. Before I blab to you about the products I use, I'd like to say that I used to suffer with really dry, flaky skin but now that has got much better and I now
have combination skin- woo, bye bye dry!

So usually as soon as some of us get home, all we think of is taking off this mask of make up, which leads me onto the first thing I do. I use the Simple facial wash gel and I absolutely adore this product. It is 100% soap free which makes it perfect for sensitive skin. All I do to remove my make up is I squeeze out a little bit of the gel and onto a wet face I apply it to where my foundation and eyebrow products have been (I do not use this on my eyes.) I then grab a damp muslin cloth and wipe the gel off my face and it removes all my make up. This literally only takes about two minutes and so I recommend doing this 100% over facial wipes as it takes less time, it's cheaper and SO much better for your skin.

Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel- £3.39

After removing my base make up, I move on to removing my eye makeup. I do this using the Waitrose pure eye make up remover. This product only cost me 99p on offer so I wasn't expecting much from it but I noticed it has 99% natural ingredients! And after testing it out, it works really well to remove my eye make up and it's also really delicate. I just use some cotton wool with this as that's what it works best with for me.

Waitrose Pure eye make up remover- £1.99

If I have lots of spots, I will use this blemish control mask which is good at preventing more spots from appearing. I just leave it on for a good ten minutes, it may feel a little irritating when it's on but after washing it off, the skin feels so amazingly clean. I picked this up for £2.99 in TKMaxx but sadly I cannot find it online! 

I also try to moisturize my face daily, I use the No7 moisturizer (bought by my beloved friend.) It is a day cream but I don't like to use moisturizer before my make up in the morning as it makes my face really oily, even though I know I should really try to use it more often then... After moisturizer I use an eye cream, this one is from the body shop. I use it so that my under eyes do not dry out during the night so that they are nicely hydrated in the morning.

No7 Essential Moisture day cream- £9.50

The body shop Unperfumed eye gel- £7.50

If you are suffering with spots, I recommend using this Clearasil rapid action treatment cream as it is my lifesaver. It starts to work in just 4 hours so all I do in the evening is apply some onto big blemishes and in the morning they are almost gone.

Clearasil Ultra Rapid action treatment- £6.39

I hope this has helped you in any way or has been informative, talk to you next time

 Marta xo

Holiday Essentials

Nivea SPF Lip balm
Polish Sun cream

Similar Portable charger
Similar- cheaper

Barry M nail varnish- Pink

Crabtree & Evelyn body lotion

Girl Online

New Look Floppy hat

Primark sunglasses

I am going on holiday to Poland TOMORROW! But then the dreaded moment comes- packing... I wasn't sure on what to pack so after gathering a few ideas on what essentials to take, I thought I would help you if you have the same problem.

1. Sunglasses
It is the summer holidays and it will be very hot in Poland- fingers crossed! So of course, my sunglasses are coming along with me. Two years ago I made the horrendous decision on not taking any sunglasses with me when I went to Spain- honestly guys, DON'T DO IT! I was squinting the entire time and all the photos looked awful because I literally had my eyes closed. So this year, I'm taking two pairs to be on the safe side.

2. Your favorite bikini
I think this is totally necessary, having a bikini which you feel confident in will make your holiday 10 times better.
Topshop bikini- £28

3. Sun-cream and SPF lip balm
These two are probably the most important when going away on holiday, remember that you can still get a nice tan when wearing SPF and you will not get burnt which is a good thing as it will not cause skin cancer or peeling of the skin.

4. A book
I don't usually read books as I get really bored but so far I have been liking Girl Online by Zoe Sugg and I will continue to try and read it more on holiday whilst I sunbathe, and through the 26 hour car journey...

5. Bright Nail varnish
A bright nail varnish will enhance your beautiful tan

6. Floppy hat
Floppy hats are very 'on trend' during the summer and they are very cooling

7. Moisturizer
And finally moisturizer! Remember to moisturize everyday to prolong that beautiful tan of yours!

Martaxo

5 Beauty Hacks You Should Know

Hi!

There are a few beauty hacks that I am aware of + are effective as they make the life of make up so much easier, so I thought I'd share them with you:

I've chucked away a lot of mascaras because they have dried up but don't do it! Just put a few drops of eye drops into the mascara, then shake and the mascara will be much better and you will be able to still get a few uses out of it.

Another good make up hack I'm aware of is for fuller lashes- who doesn't want them?

All you need to do is put some baby/talcum powder or translucent powder onto a cotton bud and brush it on your lashes, making sure you look down so no fall out goes into your eye! Then continue like normal with mascara and voila, longer and fuller lashes.This is so quick and easy but yet really effective.Here is a picture of my mascara alone and the other with this technique with translucent powder:

Left: Mascara       Right: Powder and mascara

(My lashes are already thick and cling on well to mascara this is why the results are subtle, they work better on my friends)

Mix Vaseline or petroleum jelly with a loose pigment or eye shadow to make your own lip gloss. Just squeeze out some jelly onto a spoon or container and add how ever much pigment or eye shadow you want (depending on the intensity) then give it a good old mix and you will have made your own custom lip gloss- you can also mix colours! I love to do this myself because I can get the colour I would like.

I don't know about you, but my skin tends to get a little oily during the day and there is a little hack for this. Whenever you go to the toilet, grab some clean toilet paper or blotting paper from a drugstore and pat it onto your oily patches. This is really quick and easy and doesn't take anything out of the purse! You can also use the blotting papers linked below, even when you are not oily and it will give your skin a matte finish. 

Blotting paper- £2.69

And finally the last hack- if you've ever bought a foundation that is too dark, it's not as bad as you think because you can just mix it with some moisturizer to lighten it up. Sometimes it is easier to buy a darker foundation so that you can use it during the summer when you are a bit more tanned or can lighten it up when you need to in the winter. I also like to buy a darker and lighter foundation so that you can try and mix them together depending on your skin colour. 

I hope that some of these hacks you havent heard before and may have taken your fancy and I hope you have a chance to try them out :) 

Marta xo

First Impressions!

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would do a first impressions post as I had a few new make up items and thought I'd give them a little love. It's also extremely hot in England at this moment (hope I don't jinx it!) and I'm writing this blog post outside in the sun so it's a perfect time to type some stuff on the laptop for you.

After college, I made my way to Superdrug with my friends and noticed the most beautiful brushes my eyes have ever seen. They are made by the brand Lottie London (which I have never heard of) and the prices were very affordable, so I thought I would give it a try. I have the powder brush, the handle and tip of the bristles are in the colour light blue- which, for me, is very visually appealing so it grabbed my attention straight away. 

After trying out this brush for a few days, I really enjoy using it, it's very light and soft on the skin so will not irritate, however, the bottom of the bristles that are black do feel a little more harsh. Absolutely beautiful brush and I will definitely be purchasing more! 

Lottie London Powder Brush- £7.99

***** out of 5 stars

Moving on to the Master Sculpt by Maybelline which comes in two different shades, one in Light/Medium and the other in Medium/Dark so you will probably find one that suits your skin tone- I have the shade Light/Medium because I'm pretty pale :( The contour shade is very pigmented and easy to blend with a fluffy brush so is perfect for contouring. It does have a slightly orange undertone but isn't too noticeable. The highlight side is gorgeous but it is not as pigmented as the contour. The pallet also has a mirror and contouring brush which makes it a handbag essential! (However, the brush is very hard and doesn't work for me as I think it may irritate my sensitive skin, so I take a different one with me)

Maybelline Face Master Sculpt- £6.99

**** out of 5 stars

I received the Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation from my sister for my birthday- thank you! I was really excited because I haven't used a whipped creme foundation before. Mine is in the shade 40 light ivory which will be great for the cooler months when my tan wears off because right now it is a little too light for the rest of my body (it's finally really hot in the UK!) It is a very creamy formula and blends really well into the skin, the coverage is light to medium and can be built up without looking cakey. I feel it has a slightly matte effect onto my skin but does get oily throughout the day because it's very moisturizing- I find if I just touch up with some powder or blot with some blotting paper I do not have this problem. I think the foundation will suit any skin type but will suit dry skin the most as it is very hydrating and lightweight.  

Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation- usually £9.99 now on offer for £5!

***** out of 5- will be using it a lot in the winter! 

The last product I have is the L'oreal Paris Brow Artist Genius Kit. It is packaged beautifully with a big mirror inside- which again is great to throw in your handbag. The kit has a powder side and tinted wax which are both really good and pretty pigmented. A little more pigment would be better though as I spend quite a while filling in my eyebrows with this and it takes a lot of product. This kit would be amazing for beginners as it has the powder, wax, mirror, spoolie with an angled brush on the other side and some small tweezers- so basically all you need for brows in one! My kit is in the shade Light/Medium as my hair is becoming blonder because of the sun and I don't want super intense brows so the shades are perfect.

L'Oreal Brow Kit- £9.99

**** out of 5- because of the slight lack of pigment.

Thanks for reading! 

Marta xo