Clarisonic on a budget..really!

This comes with no instructions, I had to Google them.  As there were no instructions, I used it in the way I saw fit, the logic being that if it works sans instructions, it works full stop.

I will admit now that I have used my own face washes and scrubs with this product.  I have also used the products which came with this.  I like using my own products more.  Once again, my logic was the same as above.  You don't want to buy this, use the products, like them and then realise you can't buy them again without buying the whole kit again.  I have Googled refills but the best I could find was an obscure site which suggested ebay.

The first time I used it, I used the facial brush and a Clinique face wash.  It definitely made my skin cleaner as Simon asked me why I looked far lighter when I came out of the bathroom.  It didn't feel much smoother until a few hours later.

Then I applied scrubs to my face and used the brush over them so that I got a good exfoliation “work out”.  This worked well for me as my skin did improve.  It made my skin feel very plumped up and smoother..almost instantly.

The attachment I've used more than the rest (for my face) is the brush.  I felt at first that the bristles were far too long and that shorter bristles could clean your skin more.  I don't know how much cleaner my skin could be but it is currently the cleanest it has ever been.  Smaller bristles would give you more control.

After the second usage, the pores on my nose were clean.  I am not sure if that was because of the brush or because of the makeup remover as that remover has cleaned my pores like that before.  Since then, I have stopped using the makeup remover and my pores remain just as clean.

I've used all the other attachments, the pumice attachment helps greatly with dry skin under your feet and the other two are great for buffing serum into your skin.  My mum swears by serum and she has been using the circular soft pad to buff it in and more than one person is convinced that she has had some kind of facial surgery.  I swear, giving her things to test is a curse.  She looks like my sister as it is and here's me handing her stuff which will make her look younger than me.  The body de-flaker is brilliant if you have really dry skin as if you use it before you shower, it removes all the dry flakes of skin and you end up using less moisturiser when you've finished in the shower.

The logistics of how to put the batteries in did baffle me.  If I had instructions, it would have been easier.  You have to twist the battery lid in a certain way to ensure that the product stays on.

Just when I finished typing this up, I saw an info-mercial for it on TV and watched it from start to finish.  The instructions they gave were a bit different to what I did.  They suggested putting the Cleanser onto the brush attachment and using that on your face and then using the soft pad and buffing in the Resurfacing Cream.  To apply the serum, you just use your fingers.  I personally think that my method of buffing it in works better as I couldn't see a difference when I applied it by hand.  In the photo above, the brush attachment is missing as it was drying out in the bathroom window.  I wouldn't even have known about the massager attachment had I not seen the info-mercial this morning. 

I’ve used the product in the way the info-mercial suggested and I didn’t like it.  The Resurfacing Cream is very fine and yet very gritty at the same time.  I applied the Cleanser to my face and removed it.  Then I dipped the round soft pad attachment into the Resurfacing Cream and moved it around my face.  It was very hard to remove it all, I washed my face for a good 10 minutes and it still felt gritty.  I applied the Serum and this made the grit feel more evident so I had to wash my face and apply my toner.  However, this method immediately made my nose feel smoother and smaller on the pore front.  The problem I had with this method was the fact that the cream kept slipping off the top of the pad so I had to keep stopping and smearing it back over the top of the sponge.

I also have a tiiiiiiiny issue with the size of the tub that the Resurfacing Cream comes in.  The tub is only halfway full.  The bottom half of the tub is solid and the cream is just in the top half..that's not a problem as such but why make the tub so big?

You know how you usually watch these info-mercials and you're thinking "Yeah..right! You're only saying it because you're getting paid?" Well I watched it and I have to say that everything the ladies said was true.  You do look younger, your pores are smaller, your skin is smoother and it feels brilliant.

So, do I like it?
Yes.  It does make you look younger and it does sort your pores out too.  The attachments work well and I have had soft feet and softer skin since I started using it.  Considering the fact that it costs you less than £30, I would recommend it..it's a multi-tasking genius.  You should however, use it with other scrubs and face washes as I find that those work better.

My favourites so far this year..

Here they are:

Holy over saturation of colours, Batman!

I use all these products on either a daily or weekly basis which is pretty rare for me as I have so much crap.

MAC 239 brush: I really don't know how I managed to get my eye makeup looking decent before I had this (I probably didn't).  With regards to brush hair density, it does very well.  They're tightly packed but you can get away with laying down and blending too.  It's not my blending brush, simply because it's not meant for blending.  If you're lazy/doing a look with bright colours, get this brush and you won't be sorry.  You can use it for crease work too, I switch it up between the 239 and the Revlon brush.

Maybelline Colossal mascara: This is probably my all time favourite High Street mascara.  I use this every day and it has been going strong for a long long time.  I love this and my Prestige mascara but I think this slightly has the edge as it's foolproof and I get the same results regardless of how I apply it.  Thick, long, black lashes.

YSL Teint Parfait: I blab on about this foundation a lot.  It was the first thing I ever reviewed on my blog but I'll give you a quick review of it now.  It's an oil free "foundation".  I say " " because you can use it as a primer if your skin is not behaving.  I like the fact that it has a dual personality like that because once I put it on, it doesn't come off unless you take it off.  If you have oily/combo skin and want a foundation which makes you look dewy, buy this and you won't be sorry.  The single best thing about this foundation is being photographed..you look airbrushed.

I've got a swatch for you and it's clear it doesn't match the skin on my hand but it blends in seamlessly on my face.

Dove Therapy Heat Defence spray: I really like this.  I feel that it does protect my hair from heat and it leaves my hair looking shiny after I've straightened it and it smells quite nice.  It makes my hair feel softer too so I've started using it even when I keep my hair curly.  The best thing about it is that you can be heavy handed and it won't grease your hair up which is brilliant.

The Body Shop Facial Massager: I was intrigued with this when I first saw it online and decided to buy it when I saw it in store.  I use this on a weekly basis.  It smoothes my skin out a treat.  I also find that after using it, my skin absorbs moisturiser a lot better and it feels clean, like it's been drained of toxins.  It leaves my skin nice and pink after using it so I can feel that there is some massagey benefit there.  There's a full review here.

Korres Zea Mays blusher: This has fast become my "brown girl's can blush too" blush.  When I wear it, it actually looks like I'm blushing which is brilliant.  It does contain glitter but use a light hand and you're good to go.  It looks practically untouched but I've been using it more often than not..  You can buy it here and read my review here.

YSL Palette Pop: I have had this for a long long time and it's a tester. I don't know why I'm always saying that..but it is.  I think it's because I'm in shock that a tester lasts so long.  I use this on a daily basis, it's my "no effort" blush.  It looks so natural on me that you can't even tell that I'm wearing it most of the time.  People only notice that I don't look so perky when I don't have it on.

See? You wouldn't think that was WOC friendly but it is brilliant for my skintone.  It also looks pretty chalky but applies like a dream.

I haven't had these brushes for too long but they have found their way into my makeup bag.

Revlon Foundation brush: There's a full review here.  It's all good.  The brush is totally foolproof and works brilliant when the operator is functioning on around 5 hours sleep.  It costs about a tenner from Superdrug.

Revlon Blusher brush: I'm sure this brush was made just for me.  It fits the cheek area perfectly, stays soft and yet is dense enough to pick up just enough product.  The full review is here.  I think this comes in at around a fiver or so..it's less than a tenner!

What have your favourites been so far this year?

Review: The Body Shop Facial Massager

I've never really been educated on how things like face brushes and massagers could really make the difference, I used to just buy products and slap them on, I never thought you could enhance their performance.  I've had my face brush for ageeeeeeeeeeeees now and this is why I love buying products from The Body Shop because I know these peripherals work.

I read online somewhere (I can't remember where) that when you have a facial, you should come out with a really warm, pink face and that if you don't the facial hasn't been carried out properly.

So, I set about trying to give myself a facial at home..it failed.  No matter how much I massaged my face, it didn't get near red or warm enough so I decided to let it be.  Plus, my nails were pretty long at the time and it was really hard to massage myself without ending up with crescent moons all over my face.

Then I saw this beauty on The Body Shop website and decided to buy it.

The basic method of usage is thus..

I usually use it, miss a day then use it..I couldn't think of the technical term for that kind of usage..is there one? Fortdaily? But then fortnightly is two weeks so isn't fortdaily the same? Forthourly? Does anyone know?

It says "gently roll" but I can't be gentle to save my life so I'm quite forceful with it because it's fun to do it like that, plus once the blood starts pumping it's hard to stop (man, the number of ways this sentence could be misconstrued)..

Also, I don't use it on my neck because I hate that feeling of water trickling down your neck..I might use it like that in the shower actually..

I've used it with a mixture of cleansers.  I used a solid oily cleanser, a liquid oily based cleanser and then plain old cleansing milk.

When you roll it on your mush you don't need to apply a lot of pressure as it rolls around itself, the only place it got a bit stuck was on my nose but you just learn to roll it the opposite way to how you use it on the rest of your face.

It makes my face really nice and warm and my skin feels a LOT smoother once I've washed the cleanser off.

I didn't think that my skin was that dull before but after using this, it's really perked itself up and it looks a lot more plump than it did before.

When you roll it over your face with the cleanser on it, you can tell it's working because the cleanser is in little zigzag patters on your face.

You can use it when you don't have any product on your face but I like using it with the cleanser as it kills two birds with one stone.

Purchase?
I did pay for this myself but I think saying "repurchase" is a bit redundant here as The Body Shop items like this last for ages.  If it did break on me then I would buy it again but it's very sturdy and the only way I see it breaking is if someone smashed it with a hammer.  What I'm trying to say is, if you think your skin looks dull/you can't give yourself a proper facial at home then get this because it is really good, it's foolproof!

Your mum still buys your..moisturiser?!

A good few weeks ago, I bought my mum three Chanel lippies.  My dad thinks it's wrong for me to spend this much money on her so he made her come shopping with me so she could buy me whatever I wanted.

This is what I got..

I've never seen ANY of these items in Boots before, I had a list of moisturisers I wanted to try, the main one was the vanishing cream which I didn't get as the lady behind the counter told me it wasn't in the offer.  I bought the moisturiser in the middle because it smelled pretty nice, I was going to get the Botanics oil free moisturiser but it smelled of rotting veg.  The eye cream was a last minute addition which I wasn't going to buy but as I could find nothing else I liked, I got it as Boots had their 3 for 2 on.  I swatched it in the shop and it had no glitter (yay!)  My mum was the one who found the glycerin and rosewater toner, I did see it but she was the one who suggested getting it.

I got a Dove heat protection spray but forgot to photograph it.

I picked up these two from The Body Shop:

This is a facial massager which I had wanted for some time..it cost me £6.00/£7.00.

This looks like my facial brush and it just that but a bigger version for your body.  They had quite a few in the store but the lady working there said that this was best for using in the shower.  It cost £5.00. 

I know it looks like I didn't buy that much but I did get a fair amount of clothes which proved too hard to photograph because I was dead on my feet and just shoved them into a cupboard.

If you want reviews of anything, let me know! I know I'm going to review two items already but I'll keep them a secret for now!