New Beginnings

Hello!
So this is most certainly an overdue return to the blogging world, after having a year off to, well... basically live my life! I have just graduated from University with a degree in English and Creative Writing (something I'm planning to write a blog post on), so this last year has all been a bit of a mad dash to get my degree together! What with a twelve thousand word dissertation to write, God knows how many essays to produce and a set of exams to round things off nicely, it's fair to say my little blog took the back seat in life.
However, I feel this break can only have positive effects on my blog. Looking back and seeing some of the most cringey posts from when I was younger, I just had to get rid! I've kept a few of the not so cringe worthy posts, but I'd like to think I've upped my game with things now. I've also decided that I want to take my blog into a new direction. Yes, I love blogging about the beauty world, but I don't want to be restricted with what I can write on here. So I've decided as well as the beauty posts, I will also be posting general lifestyle blog posts, about things that I know I'd like to read, whether this be about a day out I've been on, or more thought provoking blog posts about certain topics or ideas. Along with this, I'm also considering (I use that word lightly) starting up a Youtube channel, doing things like vlogs and beauty videos ect. Let me know what you all think in the comments below! It's something I've loved the thought of for years, but I've just never had the balls to actually put myself out there for the world and his wife to judge! Maybe one of these days I'll pluck the courage up to film something!
So here I am... back in action with a newly found love for blogging once again! Thank you for sticking with me, and if you're new... then hello there!

Lots of love
xxx

Review: Benefit Porefessional

Pores. Some people are lucky enough to avoid these... some of us not so lucky. People often compliment me on my 'clear complexion' but if only they knew! Ok, I may not get spots but boy are these bloody pores of mine a nuisance! I put up with them for years, trying to get my skin to look even and perfect with makeup on, but I found the more I put on the more visible the pores became. So I was stuck in a rut and it was fair to say these little blighters were quite frankly bugging the life out of me. I found the main problem areas were around my nose and strangely enough under my eyes (where I apply more makeup anyway because of my horrid dark circles!) and I just needed something to help. Then this beauty came into my life, and we have lived happily ever after since. 

Benefit Porefessional, £23.50, Debenhams

This is by far the best product I have ever tried for my pores, and at just £23.50 I reckon this is a real bargain. You only need a small amount so it will last you a good while and I can gurantee you will be amazed by the end results of this product. It completely fills in open pores giving a flawless matte finish to your skin so it's great for all you oily skinned girls out there! Even though Porefessional is a primer, it can also be used on top of foundation/powder ect so I find it superb for popping in my bag if I know I have a long day ahead, just to touch up any oiliness/ worn off makeup. The consistancy is rather like a skin coloured balm which I personally find more appealing than the gel base primers for the main reason I find those to be more oily on the skin. I really can not rave about this product enough, and if you're having trouble with pores you need to give Benefit's Porefessional a try. It may just change your life!

Lots of Love

xxxx

Tanaholic Review | L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Mousse

L'Oreal Sumblime Bronze Mousse, £9.99, Boots

Being the pastey pale human being that I am, there's no question about it.. I like to give myself a bit of colour. Unfortunately I'm far too lazy to keep up a regular tanning routine so that I look like a bronzed goddess all day every day, but for special occasions, nights out, or just when I'm feeling down with how ill I look without any colour I like to pop a bit of fake tan on. 

Now to all you beautiful snow white girls out there who actually suit pale skin, please don't be offended by what I am saying. I think pale skin looks gorgeous on those who can pull it off, giving you a sort of catwalk model look to your image. But for me, I simply look ill. 

I've tried tan after tan after tan, some I've loved, some I've came out looking like a dodgy coloured umpa-lumpa. But the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Mousse is definitely a winner for me. On the first application I was majorly dissapointed with this product. I had shaken the bottle to mix the liquid and mousse together, but there was just no difference to the colour of my skin at all. After ranting and raving I had another go with it the next morning and bloody hell was I impressed!! An instant golden colour! The formula hadn't properly mixed the previous morning as the bottle was obviously full, hence the colourless mousse, but when mixed properly this tan was absolutely gorgeous.

A lot of tans these days have a green undertone to prevent them from going orange on the skin. However I'm not really a fan of that because I feel it makes the tan slightly duller and darker. I like my tan to be sunkissed and golden and this is exactly the result I got! The smell of this product is not offensive at all. It doesn't have the typical biscuity fake tan smell, but more of a summery, holiday smell. It wears quite well and last for a good 2-3 days without needing another application. I suggest putting it on before bed and then washing it off in the shower the next morning. This way any excess product is washed off meaning it won't go onto your clothes or you won't go patchy in the rain! However I will warn you that if you apply a layer of this product say on a morning, and then put another layer on on the same evening without washing the remains of the first layer off, it can go quite bitty and cling to the dry areas, so washing the excess off is very important when applying numerous layers. It dries very quickly and actually leaves your skin feeling quite nurished and hydrated which is unusual for a mousse type product.

 I just wish they perhaps did different shades in the tan say for example light, medium and dark. I love the colour it gives me but I could maybe ask for it slightly darker! Overall I think this tan is wonderful and a steal at just £9.99. I will definitely be repurchasing it again! 

Lots of Love

xxxx

Olympic Mourning :(! (/spice girls rave)

 
I'll be the first to admit I wasn't the most excited about the olympics coming to London this year. In fact I had some pretty strong feelings against it, but oh man what was I thinking?! I LOVED IT. I didn't even realise how much I loved it until sadly, it's finished and I find myself twiddling my thumbs on what to do with my days off now :(! I wasn't too impressed with the opening ceremony I won't lie and I did think little old queeny could possibly have showed a bit more enthusiasm, however the closing ceremony was simply AMAZING. oh my goodness I just loved it, from the way the centre was set out in the shape o a union jack to yes, i said it... THE SPICE GIRLS. It is actually quite ridiculous how excited I am just even writing this post and it could quickly turn into a spice girls tribute post, but I'll try and steer away from that. Being a 90's kid, spice girls was my era. I aspired to be them and when I heard they were doing a reunion at the closing ceremony I could not contain my excitement. I thought it was such good spirits of them all to particiapte, especially posh spice who we all know is a little bit stuck up her own behind these days. I won't go on about them anymore, but man did I rekindle my all time love for them. EVERYBODY OF THE WORLD, SPICE UP YA LIFE!

I also have so much respect for Gary Barlow who performed at the end. Rumors were surfacing that they had cancelled which was totally understandable regarding his families situation, but I thought for him to go on stage and perform in the way he did was extremely brave and emotional. I think the whole nation had a lot of respect for that man at the closing ceremony.

I really think Britain have done us proud with the olympics and Rio definitely have something to go up against in four years time. Quite a few people around the world of twitter were saying how they didn't think the ceremonies were any good because people in other countries wouldn't know what they were about, but I feel as we were the hosting country, our people knew what it was about and we all enjoyed it which is the main thing! Our athletes did so well too, I really can't believe how many gold medals we got after a shaky start!

This post isn't related to beauty in any way but I just had to get my bit in before we forget about the olympics for good :(! I will certainly remember these 2 weeks for a very long time, and lets hope spice girls do a uk tour?

Lots of Love
xxxx

Hair Disaster

We've all been there... sat in the hairdresser chair after having your hair, quite frankly, butchered being asked the dreaded question 'is that OK for you?'. In your head you're screaming NO! IT BLOODY WELL ISN'T WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HAIR?! But a polite 'yes, that's lovely thankyou' seems to squirm out of your mouth. After coming out of the hairdressers and moaning and moaning, people say 'well why didn't you say something' and the answer is because we are all too polite to say we don't like what the hairdresser has spent the last hour and a half doing! This ladies, is the story of my night last night.

I'm a natural blonde but of course that was ruined when I decided that I wanted to go every hair colour possible. But now I'm going back to my roots and sticking with blonde as I feel that compliments my skin tone best. For years I've had highlights put in and in all honesty, however much people say bleach ruins your hair, mine took to it quite well. I noticed last time I had my done it wasn't as blonde as I'd quite like it, so this time I asked if she could pop a little bit more in to brighten it up. Well, quite the opposite happened. My hairdresser probably put less in than she usually does, and I'm sitting there thinking, have I done something to offend her?! All i asked for is a few more blonde bits! So We started off on a bad road. Next, I asked her just for a trim (seeing as though she was determined last time to chop half my bloody hair off) and just a few longer layers putting in. I also wanted my hair thinning out a lot because it is just so thick i can't cope! After styling my hair, she said 'there you go Jordan' and I thought she meant the styling so i went to the mirror and said it was nice, and I sat back down in the chair. After a bewildered look, my hairdresser explained to me that she had finished with my hair, baring in mind I hadn't even realised she had cut my hair... Now at the time I was more bemused by the fact that my hair wasn't as blonde as it could be, and underneath it was infact still quite dark, but as I said, something inside of you just will not let you speak your mind! Then after my hairdresser had left (and after close inspection to the monstrosity of my hair) I realised that there was infact no layers in my hair, and it was still just as thick as it was before. She had made no attempt at thinning out my hair, our putting layers into it. I also noticed this time that my hair feels extremely brittle and dry and is in awful condition! It's going to take some special TLC to get my hair back on track to getting me some luscious locks! :(

Even though on the pictures my hair may look quite blonde, the light from the window was definitely doing my hair some justice. Underneath it is quite dark and even on top you can see the darker bits coming through. Why oh why has this happened?! It's fair to say I'm feeling very delicate right now, and even though yes, it is only hair, I like to think of it as my crowning glory and the fact that it is nothing at all how I wanted it just pains me a little more every time I look in the mirror. (Drama queen... cough, cough).

Have you had any hair disasters? Let me know below!!
Lots of Love
xxxx

A Bloody Bargain!

 

First of all, I do apologise about the picture quality here as you probably can't appreciate this little baby in all of it's fineness, but trust me when I say this little beauty is absolutely gorgeous! I popped into town a few days ago to run a few errands and I was buying a birthday present for an older person. I ended up in BHS (British Home Stores) around the jewellery stands when I came across this necklace. My first thoughts were, what on earth is this doing in BHS?! For all of you who aren't familiar with this shop, it sells clothing and home ware for lets say... the older generation. So I was completely gobsmacked when this little beauty popped up, as this is the sort of thing you see in Topshop at the moment! And then of course, the price was the second thing to wow me. Originally this necklace was £18, which is still probably cheaper than what you would pay in the likes of Topshop, but I got it in the sale for £5. Yes, £5!! I know, I still can't believe it now. I love a good bargain and boy did this fulfill my needs for one! There's always a feeling of satisfaction after you find something like this, and I kind of feel I've cheated BHS out of this gorgeous necklace! But hey, I'm not complaining! 

The four tiered gold chains are all different thickness' and patterns and I think this necklace just looks so expensive! I thought it would look great with a LBD on a night out just to bling it up a little. I do love a bit of bling I've got to say and this will definitely be featured in an OOTN soon! All four tiers sit beautifully, and overall I absolutely love this piece. Maybe your BHS has this left still? Go have a peak, you may be surprised what you find in there!!

Lots of Love

xxxx

My very simple skin care routine!

I'm very lucky in the fact that my skin is generally quite good. I rarely break out, the skin isn't too sensitive (unlike the rest of my body!) and I don't have that many blemishes. I could take all the credit in the world for this and say I've worked so hard to get good skin, but what's the point of lying... I've generally just been very lucky!! Now that I'm getting older, I do feel it necessary however to have a basic regime that I follow to make sure my skin stays in tip top condition and so here's just a few bits and bobs that I'm currently using.

I would like to say that none of these products are cult products that I would re-purchase again and again. I rarely stick to the same skincare, because when I run out of something I prefer to try something new to get the best out of the market :)! So here we go...

Cleanse

I have two different cleansers, one for the morning and one for the evening. On a morning I use Clean and Clear, morning energy, skin brightening daily facial wash which can be purchased from Boots for £3.99. I have quite dry skin, but for you girls who get oily this is an oil free facial wash. It has little beads in for exfoliating, however these seem to just stay at the bottom and you don't get the full use of them. The smell is very refreshing and quite citrusy so I suppose that's where it gets its name from, however I don't think my skin looked particularly more bright. The strong scent may also put you off if you have quite sensitive skin, because however lovely it smells it is rather strong. I do look for a cleanser which foams up well and this certainly does, and it also has quite a silky feel to it which is lovely on the face. All in all I don't think I will be re-purchasing this again, simply for the reason that there are just so many different cleansers out there ready to be tested!

On an evening I use the Clinique, Rinse off foaming cleanser mousse, hydro-demaquillante. I'm not sure if this is still available in the UK as I couldn't seem to find it online, however for all you lucky Europeans, Sephora in France sells this product for 23,50€. Again, this cleanser foams like an absolute dream and leaves your face feeling pampered and fresh. The scent isn't very strong at all, and I see this product as being very gentle on the skin. It is quite moisturising, however if you're someone with extremely dry skin this may not give you all the moisture that you need. Overall I really enjoy using this cleanser and if you're looking for a mild and gentle wash to cleanse your face with, I think this does the job lovely.

Tone

I do enjoy using a toner in my skincare regime. I feel like it just totally refreshes your face in between cleansing and moisturising, and it's great for getting any extra makeup that may be left on after you've cleansed. At the moment I'm using Garnier, Simply Essentials Soothing vitamin-enriched toner which you can buy from Tesco for around £3. This toner has no perfume, no alcohol and no colourants so is very kind to your skin and claims to be suitable for even sensitive skin. This product really soothes my skin and although it has no perfume it actually smells subtly very nice! It smells very natural and you can kind of feel it tingling on your skin after you've applied it which feels really nice. I think this is a great toner for the price and definitely worth a try!

Moisturise

I haven't been using this moisturiser for very long so this is kind of more of a first impressions on the Nivea, pure & natural soothing day cream for dry to senstive skin.  I would have to say for me, this is the most important step in my skincare routine, because I do get very dry skin especially around my nose area and forehead. Now out of all this things I have talked about to day, there is no doubt about it that this is the nicest smelling product out of them all. Jees I just can't stop smelling it! It has Aragin Oil and Chamomile in and the mix of the two just produces the most healthy scent ever. It's not sweet, but smells very natural and as though it would infact do your skin good! It has no parabens, no silicones, no colourants and no mineral oils, so this product is really working for the good of your skin! There was also the same moisturiser but for normal skin so if you don't need as much hydration that would perhaps be a good choice. For me however, I just wack a load of it on in the attempt not to be dry! Infact sometimes I think to myself, Jees Jordan, you know you're gonna have to calm it a bit on the moisturiser front, you're gonna make your skin oily you put that much on! But I just love it! So first impressions are extremely good for this product and I think I'm definitely going to have to try the night cream from the same range.

Eye Cream

At the moment I'm using up a sample of the Clinique, all about eyes eye serum which can be bought from House of Fraser for £24. This is very thick in consistancy, almost sticky as you're putting it around the eyes. But it certainly keeps your eyes hydrated for a long time after applying it! It claims to reduce the look of puffiness and circles, and whether it actually does this I am not yet convinced. It may soothe the puffiness, but whether it reduces dark circles? I don't think so. Personally I think the only cure for dark circles is more sleep, but if it makes you feel better putting this around your eyes then why not! I think the price is a little steep for the job it does. You can certainly get cheaper products which do just as good-a-job.