REVIEW: LANCOME TEINT MIRACLE

Three guesses what this post is going to be about...

Yep, you got it. It's the Lancome Teint Miracle foundation. 

So I believe that this foundation has been out for a good few years now, however it's one that I've never really thought to try. Truth be told, I generally tend to stay away from Lancome altogether. I've not had any bad past experiences with them or anything, I guess I've just never had any memorable ones.

One day last month, a lovely girl from work and I were chatting about makeup (because what else would us girls talk about, right?) and I was saying how I'd bought a few foundations recently that have turned out to be slightly dark for me. She then, to my fantastic surprise, offered to swap a couple of her lighter ones for my darker ones. 

The following day, I was handed this and couldn't wait to get home and give it a go.

(Just for the record, the original bottles that you can buy from store are much prettier- it's glass (I believe), square and has a great pump on it, however this is the bottle that you use in store to top up sample bottles and seeing as she used to work in store, she picked this up on the cheap-o.)

So, I've been using this every day for the past few weeks give or take a few days and I can honestly say that I've been loving it!

To say how thin the consistency is, the coverage is very, very high. I've barely touched any concealer since wearing this, which makes getting ready really easy. The foundation does smell slightly, which may be slightly too perfumed for some people, so make sure that you give it a sniff before you buy just in case.

It's very blend-able too, which is a massive bonus. There's nothing worse than a foundation that you can't seem to blend, leaving you with funny patches over your face. I've also noticed that you can build it up, so if you feel like you need a little more coverage on certain places.

Another great thing is that it comes in plenty of shades- there are 20 on the Boots.com website and so there may even be even more in store or on the Lancome website.

The only downside that I've found is that it doesn't seem to last very long, which is such a shame. I've tried using different primers, different setting powders, even different skincare regimes, however nothing has worked and I end up looking a little sweaty and patchy- not the look that I tend to go for.

Also, the price! It's £29.50 which is fine, as long as the foundation does it's job, however for that price, you can purchase the infamous Estee Lauder Double Wear and have a hefty, great foundation for the price.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great go-to foundation for the day-time when a heavy face and long-lasting coverage is not needed (maybe shopping, lunch, even work) but I'd definitely leave it to the professionals if you're going on a night out or you need your foundation to last all day.

Have any of you tried this foundation? Let me know!

xxxx

Purchase from Boots here for £29.50

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS

Good morning!

Today I thought that I'd share with you what I've been up to this week so here it goes.. 

1.we had a BBQ (mmm) // 2.Stroopwafels & melted Nutella- need I say any more? //

 3.Trying out my new dressing table lights.

4. WE BOOKED TWO HOLIDAYS. Yep, two. Me & Luke are going back to Dublin in the next few months & then we booked to go to Gran Canaria, all incl. in February eeeep!

5.Garden party at my mum & dad's // 6.Going through old photos of me & Luke, aww.

7.Yet another selfie. // 8.See number 4. // 9.Saw Inside Out with my sis.

So there it is, my weekly roundup. I'm super excited for my trips away, especially to show Luke around Dublin and then just to chill in the Canaries just after my birthday.

Also, I would totally recommend watching Inside Out (it's a kid's animated film, but it's really well made) and, bonus, it even has a short story at the begin that is a bugger for making you tear up. Take tissues!

See ya later & enjoy your week!

xxxxx

QUICK CATCH UP FT. INSTAGRAM

 

 
 

Hi my little lovelies,

 

Today's post is just a little catch-up seeing as I've been somewhat absent for the majority of the past two months. I can only apologise for that and promise that I'll stop with the neglect and get my ass back into gear so expect plenty of product reviews and random rants.

 

I've left my Instagram name (jessiestarbuck) above so that anyone who doesn't follow me can have a little nosey and hopefully follow me. I'm constantly on Instagram and SnapChat (same username) so follow me on there to be kept fully up to date!

 

Anyway, as you can see- I've been a very busy bee what with nipping to Amsterdam, celebrating Luke's 21st birthday and other friends' birthdays and getting cheeky awards at work (!!) but I'll write a proper post including those events in due course.

 

Hope that everyone's okay!

 

xxxx



CLEARING UP YOUR COMPLEXION: MY ROUTINE

Spots, blemishes, blackheads. Ugh. There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning and realising that you look like a 14-year-old pubescent kid with a crater-face (slight exaggeration maybe?) but up until this week, that was my life.

Bad diet, excessive alcohol, late nights, lack of skincare routine, slathered in fake tan gah! No wonder my skin hated me, Nevertheless, I knew that I could pull it back and use my go-to routine to fix it and luckily, it has saved me again and so today, I wanted to share with you my top products for banishing the blemishes for good.

First up, I'll take off my makeup using my favourite cleanser; the Philosophy Purity cleanser £17.50. I just use a penny-sized amount, massaged in to my skin for 30-60 seconds and rinse off using a flannel. Then I'll go ahead and use this Nip and Fab Glycolic Fix Cleanser £7.95, first massaging in again with my fingers and then I'll go ahead and use this electric face brush (I got this from an international seller on eBay for about £5!) on high speed in small upward-circular strokes, massaging for about a minute or so, then I'll rinse it off using my flannel again.

Once I've patted my face dry, I go over my problem areas using both the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Cleansing Lotion and the Garnier Pure Active Spot Purifying Toner on a cotton pad. Generally, this is my nose, chin and either side of the chin and occasionally my forehead.

After this, I'll pop the Origins Super Spot Remover on top of any big spots that I have and use the Clean and Clear Advantage Spot Treatment on any smaller spots and leave to dry. I do this morning and evening and by the end of the week, my skin is back to being as clear as ever! 

How do you control your spots?

xxx

GARNIER AMBRE SOLAIRE ONE WEEK GLOW FACIAL TAN

For some reason, my face doesn't ever pick up a tan. It doesn't pick up colour from the sun and nor does it pick up colour when any face tanner is applied. It's a nightmare. Such a pasty face and a terribly mis-matched neck. So I picked this up at work in the hope that this would actually do the job.

Anyway, the Loreal Sublime elixir is the first tanner to work on my face since, like, forever except I'm blaming my new-found spotty skin on that bugger. I guess something so fantastic has to have it's negative qualities too, right? Anyway, I picked this up in my local Boots store for £6.66 (here) and started using it right away.

The first thing that I noticed is the smell; just like all other Garnier Ambre Solaire tanning products, it smelt divine. There's no other tan that smells so delicious. It's just so fruity and pretty and mmmm. I just love it! So far, so good.

I also love the fact that it's kind of a gel consistency- it sits lovely on the skin, goes on smoothly and feels so, so moisturising upon application. There is also a slight colour-guide which is great, then you tend not to miss any patches. (see below)

I put this on before going to bed and the next morning, my skin did have a nice glow to it, but nothing to suggest that I've been on holiday or anything. More of a 'just had 8 hours sleep and a good exfoliating session' glow. Not all that impressed. I was impressed that it had lived up to the 'no streaks' claim, which is good. I then put another layer on top before I put my makeup on but once I had taken my makeup back on, I literally saw no change. I then put yet another layer on (after cleansing) and the next morning, there was definitely a slightly deeper glow that could pass as a few days in the garden kinda glow, which I suppose is better than nothing. I do think that these results would be fair enough had I have bought the 'light' shade, but I bought 'medium' for a reason.. 

I then wanted to see this whole '1-week' claim. Okay, after my usual makeup removal routine, there was definitely product still there, but this lasted probably around 3 days before I was back to my pasty old self.. Yeah, it doesn't last a week. Maybe it would for people that don't wear as heavy makeup, hence they have to cleanse less, but for me it was definitely around the 2-3 day mark when I started noticing that it had gone.

Overall, I probably won't be using this again- I'll definitely use up the rest of the tube, but I'm not too fussed about repurchasing.

Do you know any good facial tanners? 

xxx

HOW I CLEAN MY MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hands up who loves clean makeup brushes? Now keep your hands up if you wash them regularly- I'm talking, like, weekly. Oh, not so many hands now huh?

Yeah, I'm a bugger for not washing mine very regularly, you know the whole *I'll wash them this weekend when I'm off* however we all know that it never comes around. A fresh makeup brush makes the world of difference when it comes to applying your makeup, but we just make do without I guess. 

Anyway, so when I finally do get round to cleaning my brushes, I like it to be very quick, easy and simple. I don't want to be hanging over the sink for hours on end and that is how I came across this effective way of cleaning by brushes that takes very minimal effort to do!

So firstly, I tend to turn down my water because I like to let it run the entire time and water that is too hot can ruin your brushes, making them fall apart or brittle. 

Next up, I take a silicon oven glove (I got mine off eBay for roughly £2!), I wet the brush and then I pop a 10-pence-piece-sized dollop of baby shampoo (the one that I'm using is just Sainsburys own) on to the mitt and, taking my first brush, I swirl it around in circles, running it under the water several times. I repeat this until the water runs clear and then pop it onto a towel to dry.* Carry on going through your collection of brushes until they are nice and clean.

*For the towel, roll one side up and make sure that the brush ends are facing that way (so that they are on a downward slant) so that the water runs out of the bristles and not down into the handle as it can, again, make the brush fall apart.

I also added the hand sanitiser on here as I like to make sure that I use this the whole way through, just because I tend to squeeze the excess water out of the brushes before re-shaping them and popping them on the towel to dry (and what's the point in rubbing dirty hands over your now-pristine brushes?!).

Do you have any extra tips for me?!

xxx

HEAVENLY HEALTH GROUP PRODUCT REVIEWS

So a few weeks ago, the lovely Faye at Heavenly Health Group delivered me a little basket of goodness to try out and boy, have I been excited to share this with you! The basket consisted of a good few little gems that you can stick in to your daily routine that will help to make you beautiful on the inside and out. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to try everything, but here are my person reviews on the bits that I did get to try;

Aloe Heat Lotion;

I loved this stuff- after going to the gym, I get such bad lower back pain where my muscles literally ache so much and this stuff was a God send. I popped it onto the tender parts and let it work it's wonders and after an hour, I felt as good as new. There is a very strong, kind of medicinal scent, something like you get from Vicks rub (which I love), but this could potentially be a little too strong for sensitive noses. I really liked that this lotion has long-lasting effects; generally with heat lotions the warm sensation only lasts a couple of minutes, but this one was warm for an entire hour. 

Shampoo and Conditioner:

I genuinely loved the shampoo so much- I use so many products on my hair during the day that when I come to wash it, it usually takes a double-wash to make sure that my hair is squeaky clean, but it only took the one application of this and my hair felt the most clean that it had felt in months. I also loved that the shampoo lathered up perfectly and rinsed out very quickly, which was another positive!

The conditioner smelt beautiful; so soft and pretty and it left my hair feeling silky and surprisingly strong. Both of these are quite large containers, so I can imagine that they will last a long while. 

Arctic Sea Soft Gels; Omega 3:

After taking these 3 times a day, I can tell that my nails are 100% stronger and they are growing at a crazy-fast rate. I've not noticed much of a change in my hair yet, but with continued use, I'm sure that I will see the benefits. 

Face and Hand Soap:

I like how large the bottle is- I guess that it will last a while. This left my face so soft and clean with very little makeup residue on there, however it did leave my palms slightly parched, but a dab of hand cream fixed that. 

Aloe Scrub:

The exfoliating beads in this scrub are the perfect size, not too large that they don't make much of a difference but not too small and scratchy either. This left my face soooo smooth and perfectly exfoliated without irritating it at all, The scent, again, is beautiful and definitely not too overwhelming. 

Aloe Propolis Creme:

This says that it is to help maintain a beautiful skin tone and texture and I can 100% say that I agree with it. I used this morning and evening after cleansing and within a couple of days, my skin had totally transformed. It's very moisturising however unfortunately, I wasn't too keen on the scent.

Aloe Moisturising Lotion:

I feel the same way about this as I did the Propolis Creme in which it is very moisturising, however I didn't see many effects whilst using it. 

Aloe Vera Gelly:

Now this was my favourite product of the lot- I used it once after shaving, once after waxing and a couple of times when I'd scratched or banged myself (yep, I'm clumsy) and each time, it soothed my skin and helped calm it down drastically.

I also woke up with super-puffy eyes one morning and so I put this product in the fridge for 30 minutes and then used it just under my eyes and my god, it felt wonderful!! Fantastic! 

There were a couple more products in the basket, however I didn't quite get the chance to give them a go which is such a shame. I would definitely recommend every single one of the products that I tried and I am so eager to give everything else a whirl! 

You can find Faye and her group here on Facebook or you can follow them on Instagram @heavenly_health_group

Laters! xxxx