Pale much?

Well I am.... very pale in fact, and the sun would rather make me resemble a lobster than give me a lovely tan. But hey ho, such is life.

I have a solution that doesn't involve smelly fake tan or nasty sunbeds!


Bourjois' 'Délice de Soleil' spray bronze powder. Mine is in light/medium. 

Bourjois describe it as "A powder mist that delicately melts onto the skin for a perfect, natural and even tan" and that's just what it does.

I'm not a fan of using a lot of powder products on my skin in the Summer months, purely because it makes my make up look cakey. I've tried this spray a few times now and am really impressed. It gives an all over glow to you face AND body  and there's no need to blend into the skin. Fan-dabi-dozy!

It's not that badly priced either, £7.99 and is on a 3 for 2 offer at Boots.

Alternatively, if you're in Birmingham or Bristol you can go along to Superdrug and have a Bourjois makeover! Link on piccie below.

Origins Toner

I finally ran out of my beloved Liz Earle Instant Boost skin tonic, so off I trotted to find myself a new toner.

I still love the Liz Earle toner but I'm a sucker for trying new products. As you can tell from the title of this post, I opted for Origins.

It's the 'Make a Difference' skin rejuvenating treatment lotion... Suitable for most skin tones (Not ideal for those of you with very oily skin, unfortunately). Anyhow, here it is...

And here's what it claims to do!

"The Rose of Jericho and Cactus Extract along with skin-reviving Trehalose and Sea Haricots help the skin rebound from dramatic dehydration.
A unique, natural water-holding complex keeps skin happily hydrated from within and Oceanic Flora helps improve the appearance of damage done by UV and environmental exposure. It  helps improve the appearance of damage done by UV and environmental exposure" (Origins)

In all honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it; the smell is lovely and my skin feels smooth, however, its also irritated my eyes slightly and my skin feels very tight after use. Nothing a bit of moisturiser won't sort but for £16.00 I expected a lot more.

I'm going to give it a chance and continue to use it for a few weeks but I think I'll be back at my local Liz Earle counter sooner than I had hoped. Shame.

Kindle Skins

I've been looking for a 'skin' for my Kindle for a while now and I've finally found the perfect one.. Insert pretty picture!

Voila! It's cute, right? It's a copy of Van Gogh's painting 'Almond branches in bloom' which I'm now thinking I like so much I'll try and get hold of a canvas print for my bedroom. 

I was toying between getting this one or a really vibrant bookshelf design 'skin' but I figured the bright coloured one could be a distraction while reading

I've ordered mine from MobileFun and it was £14.99 excluding postage, which was £2.50.

Charmies

This super cute charm bracelet is fast becoming my favourite. Mine is turquoise (perfect for summer) but they're also available in pink, black, blue, green, lemon and soft pink. So, something for everyone. 

They're £59.99 and available at www.charmies.co.uk 

Birthday Cake

This has to be the cutest birthday cake I've ever had!

It's amazing! My lovely boyfriend got it from a great little shop in Manchester called 'Sweet tooth Cupcakery'. They sell little cupcakes, too, which are all named after famous people. Mine is called Mrs Slocombe (A character from 'Are you being served?')

And now you see why :) They taste amazing, too!

So if you live in the Manchester area I'd definitely recommend checking them out! 

Birthday Wish List

It's June! Which means its almost my birthday! I'll be 25 on the 18th and I've been asked a few times what I'd like. So I did some brainstorming (which didn't take long) and have come up with a few favourites.

Of course, I'm not expecting to get all of these things; they're just ideas :)


1. River Island ankle boots 
2. OPI Nail polish in 'Modern Girl'
3. Sigma brush kit
4. Ted Baker 'Kayler' quilted tote in 'Natural'
5. Simon Kernick's book ''The Last 10 Seconds'
6. Quiz butterfly dress

Favourite foundations/tinted moisturisers

I've tried numerous high end and 'drugstore' foundations and tinted moisturisers over the years; some have been a surprise and others have disappointed.

Here's what I look for in a foundation/tinted moisturisers:

• Finish - dewey but skin-like. I don't like to look like I'm wearing foundation
• Coverage - light but buildable 
• Longevity - I work long shifts so I need my foundation to stay put
• Colour match - It has to be the exact same colour as my skin (which is very pale)

There aren't many foundations that I've come across that have ticked all the boxes. Those that have may come as a surprise. 

In my current foundation collection I have:

1. Smashbox HD Fx foundation in Light 11
2. Mac Pro Longwear SPF 10 in NW20
3. Mac Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 in NC15
4. Mac Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 in NC20
5. Revlon Photoready in Shell/Nude
6. Revlon Colourstay for normal/dry skin in Ivory
7. DiorSkin Airflash in Cameo
8. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude 

Of all these foundations I use only three; Revlon Photoready and Smashbox HD Fx and my favourite of all time, Laura Mercier.

I'm not a great advocate of Mac foundations. Of the ones I have tried I find them to be very cakey and often a little bit smelly. I do want to try their face and body however, as I think it would be more suitable for me. The DiorSkin Airflash was just awful; poor colour choices and dried far too quickly to be able to blend into the skin properly.

Revlon's Photoready is brilliant if you like a light/medium coverage and a dewey finish. It's easy to apply and is very light in consistency, which I like. I've heard a lot of reviews saying that it is too 'sparkly', however, I didn't find this. I powder with either Mac's mineralize skinfinish (Medium Plus) or Mac's Prep and Prime translucent powder. I find this leaves my skin with a flawless complexion. If I could make this foundation any better I would make it available in more skin colours as I do have to mix two shades together in order to match my skin perfectly. 

Smashbox HD Fx is great if I want a more matt finish. It's light in consistency and very blendable. It's oil free, so great is my have oily skin or suffer from acne. I tend not to powder over this foundation as it is a matt finish. 

Laura Mercier's tinted moisturiser is in my books, and many other people's books, amazing. It gives the skin a natural glow, gives a flawless finish, evens out slight discolouration and best of all, it looks like skin. It gives more coverage than your average tinted moisturiser, which I like. I can use this all year round, adding more/less depending on whether it's winter or summer. So no need to go out and buy another foundation... I love it! Can't say enough good things about it!