Morning and Evening Skincare Routine

I did not realise until writing this post how many Simple products I'm currently using but turns out that most of my morning and evening skincare routine is by them! It's not overly surprising though as when I'm a bit on a budget Simple is my go to skincare brand and one which I'd recommend to anyone who's starting out in the world of skincare. But let's see what else I use...

Morning

So my morning routine is kept very simple and quick as I don't often have a lot of time spare. In the shower I will use a face scrub/wash of sorts and then, after fueling up on breakfast, I make a start of my skincare. I always start with a cleansing water and I'm currently using the Garner Micellar Cleansing Water. This has been my favourite one for a long time and is always my go to. Especially when the bottles are so huge and therefore last ages! I then follow with Simple Soothing Facial Toner. After a swift cleanse and tone I will then use a serum and have recently discovered the Simple Hydrating Booster. I started using this when it came out at the beginning of Winter and haven't gone a day without it since. It is exactly what it says and gives your skin a boost of hydration which mine definitely needs during the colder months. My final step is to moisturise with a light moisturiser. Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser is a perfect product for the job as it's light on the skin, soaks in quickly and make-up sits beautifully on top. 

Evening

As soon as I'm home from work I head straight into my bathroom and take my make-up off. I love to use either the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser or the Simple (surprise surprise) Oil Cleanser which I've actually just used up which is why it's not in the picture. If my skin then feels tight then I'll pop on some moisturiser at this stage but if it doesn't then I leave me skin naked and able to breathe. When it's finally time for bedtime I get down to business with a bit more of a busy skincare routine. A lot of products from the morning routine appear again so the main difference in the evening is I like to use a thicker and more nourishing moisturiser. Often I use oils and recently finished the Neal's Yard Beauty Balm which I absolutely LOVE (and you can read about here) but at the moment I'm back to a cream and I'm absolutely loving the Pixi Beauty Sleep Cream. I've also written a post about this product here which will tell you all about my thoughts on it. I will then follow on with an eye cream and currently using the Boots Time Delay Anti-Aging Eye Cream. My eyes can be very sensitive with eyes creams (including the Simple one!) but gets on well with this one from Boots which is also very affordable so a winner!

And after all that I'm ready for bed, to then wake-up and do it all over again! I actually really enjoy skincare routines so if you have any product recommendations for me to add into mine then please let me know!!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Pixi Beauty Sleep Cream

I recently ran out of my beloved Neal's Yard Rose Beauty Balm (which you can read about in my post here) and then found this product in my drawer so have been trying it out for the past couple of weeks. Pixi Beauty Sleep Cream is a welcome addition to my evening skincare routine as I've really been enjoying using it. 

First off, I love the packaging. There's something so simple and quite old fashioned about it which I love. The cream itself is very buttery and absorbs into the skin quickly. It feels quite light on the skin which is a nice change from using oils which can feel a bit heavier and take longer to sink into the skin. Even though it feels light on the skin there’s no doubt that it’s working hard over night as my skin feels so nourished in the morning. This Beauty Sleep Cream also has a slight lavender smell which I also enjoy but I realise it may not be to everyone's taste. 

Overall I have really enjoyed using this cream and will continue to do so. However, the one down side is that the pump has let me down a couple of times. I don't know if the texture of the cream is too thick in the tube but I often find I have to twist the pump off and squeeze the cream onto my hand instead. Not a big issue and I can still use the cream but just a slight annoyance. 

So far the skincare which I've tried from Pixi is this Beauty Sleep Cream and the infamous Pixi Glow Tonic (which I LOOOOVE!). Let me know if there's any other Pixi essentials I need to be trying!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Glossybox - February 2018

For some reason with this box the card lists more items than what you receive so I think it was a real pick 'n' mix situation but I have to say I'm really happy with the items I got and wouldv'e chosen the same products from the list had I had a choice - thumbs up for Glossybox getting it bang on yet again! Let's see what I got...

Ciate London Gelology Top Coat - RRP £6.00, £9.00 for the full size

This is such an adorable mini which I can't wait to try out. I love top coats which leave a gel finish to your nails as I find this helps them last the longest. This states it provides 10 days of high shine gloss which would just be fab!

Steve Laurant Nude Pop Lip Tint - RRP £17.00

This brand is popping up quite a bit in beauty boxes at the moment and I'm not complaining at all. The packaging of the products are beautiful and this lip tint is no exception. With a rose gold lid and a glass jar there's really not much to complain about. I've tried it on and the colour on me is more coral than nude but I still really like it. It did clump slightly on the dry bits of my lips but after buffing them down a bit it settled into a really nice shade. Can't say it felt over moisturising but at the moment my lips are really dry so maybe on a normal lip day this would be sufficient to keep them going.

Studio 10 Beauty Makeup Mist Glow-Plexion - RRP £14.00, £26.00 for the full size

I love a good setting mist and use one every day. Although on a daily basis I use the L'oreal one, my skin reacted the best to the MAC one and really improved with daily use of it. I'm hoping that this one will be much the same to the MAC one and bring some glow to my skin to help it look brighter and younger.

Icona Milano Emotion Allowed Mascara - RRP £15.00

I've already used this mascara once since getting my box and has to say I was impressed. Usually I like to let a mascara dry out a bit before using it as I really don't like the whole clumping together and 'spidery' look. However, this didn't clump lashes together too much and really did lengthen and hold the curl. It's also waterproof - hence the emotion allowed - and stuck around all day without the slightest hint of flaking or smudging.

Sleek Makeup Diving Eyeshadow Palette in Storm - RRP £8.99

I actually had this exact palette before so when I received this I dug out my old one. It had a cracked mirror and was extremely dirty and a couple of the eyeshadows were completely used. The fact I still had it however to me shows how much I liked the palette so I'm very happy to have a brand new clean one to replace it with. Sleek is also a drugstore makeup brand which I think is very under-rated and is great quality for it's price. If anyone was starting out in makeup I would 100% recommend checking out this brand and especially the eyeshadow palettes!

I think the item I'm most looking forward to using is the Ciate top coat but I'm also SO happy to have the new Sleek eyeshadow palette. If any of you have reviewed your own Glossyboxes or any beauty box subscriptions then feel free to leave a link below as I love reading about them!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Birchbox - February

For February's Birchbox we got ta choice of three themed boxes- 70's, 80's or 90's.  I'm not sure if it's obvious from the photo of my box above but I went for the 90's as it was the decade I grew up in. So let's see what I got in my box...

The Beauty Crop Eyeshadow Trio in 'Love You So Latte' - RRP £7

These three shades are all so useable and go together perfectly. Having all three in such a small compact makes it perfect to pop in your handbag for any touch ups. The real test for these will be how they blend together and how they last on the eyes.

ModelCo Green Concealer - RRP £14

When I first saw this I thought it was one of those lip crayons which look green and react with the ph levels on your lips to comes out your perfect shade. However, after reading the menu card I saw it was a concealer and was intrigued! It's used to help conceal redness so I'm actaully going to go this to a friend who says she already uses a green concealer as I don't feel it's something which I would necessary need myself.

Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish - RRP £10 for the full size

I've actually used this before and can't say I miss it much. From what I remember a little goes a long way and used too much will result in a greasy/over producted look which isn't what anyone wants!

Luseta Coconut Milk Hair Mask - RRP £32 for the full size

I've heard good things about this hair mask and can't wait to try it out. I love hair masks which you only need to leave on for around 5 minutes before washing off as that gets the job done there and then in the shower. I'm expecting this to leave my hair smooth and shiny so saving it for when my hair really needs a boost.

Laqa & Co B'Lighter - RRP £12 for the full size

I really like the packaging of this mini product and think it's a Summer must have. Having swatched it on my hand it's definitely strong on the shimmer but looks like if it's used sparingly it'd be perfect to add that holiday glow we all lust after but I for one already know I can't afford this year so very glad to have this little beauty to help me fake it. 

The more observant of you will notice that I actually got 6 items instead of 5 in this box. I'm not too sure what happened but I seem to have gained a little bonus product as there's no mention of the Arrow eyeliner anywhere. Having used Arrow before (hich I got in a previous Birchbox) I'm really excited to get to try another of they products and love the versatility of the two sided eyeliner. 

I've actually convinced one of my colleagues to start her Birchbox subscription again and she went for the 80's box so we could see the difference. It was slightly disappointing to see that we pretty much had the same products. I just had one different and she received a product which I got in a previous box instead. 

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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