June favourites

No introduction required surely? You know the drill. New month = last month's most reached for and loved products, here goes:

Dior Forever Flawless Perfection Fusion Wear Foundation - £32

This is a gorgeous product and my most reached for base throughout June, an odd choice really. Why you ask? Well it's a full coverage foundation for a start, and personally I prefer a light to medium coverage. Also, a full coverage foundation during the summer months, Naomi what are you playing at? But despite it being full coverage, this does not wear heavy on the skin at all. No cakeyness, just a natural looking, velvety finish. Also a perfect colour match for me, I use the shade 011, which I think is the lightest or next shade up. A lovely product and the kind of quality you would expect from Dior!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Bikini-tini - £15.50

Yes, I know this appeared in my May favourites post but this continued to serve me well throughout June. It adds that bit of something to every look and the reason it's made another favourites post is because I discovered another use of this already perfect product... Its champagney, gold colour means it can be used as a highlighter at the top of your cheekbones! Try it, you'll thank me later!

Origins Make a Difference Plus+ Rejuvinating Moisturiser - £34.50

This stuff has solved a lot of my skincare woes. I don't want to speak too soon but this could well be a lifetime favourite, not just a monthly favourite. At the start of June my skin was suffering, not only from a minor breakout but it was also pretty dehydrated. However between this and Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask (I will get to this next) - they've been a total godsend for me. This divine smelling moisturiser, featuring Nature's Rose of Jericho, plus a Lychee and Watermelon hydra-sustain complex claims to quench deep to help add moisture to dry, dehydrated skin. That it does and despite its lovely scent, it does not irritate my skin in the slightest. At the start of the month my skin was looking lacklustre to say the least, however using this product daily has ensured my skin is looking and feeling hydrated throughout the day. Thumbs up for this!

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask - £23

Another June skincare saviour, as mentioned above. This is my first dabble with an overnight mask and my word, I will never look back. I used this once a week during June and each time I woke up with my skin appearing healthier and plump, and just looking better overall. I apply this fairly thickly after my Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum, and use this in place of my moisturiser. Overnight my skin "drinks it up" - as the name suggests. At first this is fairly sticky but don't be put off, it sinks in easily after a few minutes. Another bonus is its delightful, fruity smell - which is obviously down to it containing avocado oil, mango butter and apricot kernel oil. These ingredients also help to deeply hydrate the skin. I will review this product by itself in the near future, as it has worked wonders on my skin.

Batiste Dry Shampoo Dark & Deep Brown - £3.99

If you would've told me a few months back that a dry shampoo would make one of my favourites posts I would have probably laughed in your face. It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable with the idea of dry shampoo and June was the month when I actually became okay with it, well in fact more than okay. During June, I used this on a number of occasions as a hair texturiser more than anything. It added a bit of body to my hair, when it started to look a little lacklustre (new favourite word, can't you tell?) and it made all the difference, and added that necessary bit of 'oomph' to my locks.

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Review of Eucerin DermoPURIFYER Cleanser

Recently my skin has been somewhat more oil-prone than usual, I'm not entirely sure why but this oily spell came at a time when Escentual were offering bloggers the opportunity to try out a cleanser targeted at tackling oily skin, so of course I jumped at the chance to give it a whirl.

What arrived in the post a few days later was Eucerin's DermoPURIFYER Cleanser (RRP £9). I must admit what first struck me about the product was how 'basic' the packaging looked, superficial I know. However, on further reading up on Eucerin, I soon realised this wasn't a brand you buy for how its packaging looked but rather its effective results. Eucerin claims to be 'the dermatologist-recommended skincare brand based on honest skin science' that contains 'active ingredients' in order to create high quality, effective products.

This soap and fragrance free, gel type cleanser works by removing excess sebaceous-gland lipids and reduces growth of bacteria, while gently removing make-up and dirt.

I've been using this product for the past month now every night before going to bed and I can honestly say this product does remove make-up and dirt effectively, while being extremely gentle on the skin. I lather it with water, which creates a  gentle foam.

Alongside the cleanser, I have stuck to my usual skincare routine which comprises of a micellar water before this cleanser, then followed up by a serum and moisturiser.

Post use I like how my skin feels, it leaves my skin thoroughly cleansed and feeling soft, and I have noticed a reduction in my skin's oiliness.

Those of you who suffer with oil-prone skin I can't recommend this enough and until June 30, Escentual is offering up to a 1/3 off French Pharmacy brands, so what are you waiting for?

Alongside this cleanser, Escentual also kindly send me an array of other goodies and two that I'm looking forward to trying is Eucerin's Even Brighter Day and Night creams. I will have to let you know how I get on with those.

Have you tried any Eucerin products before? Were they effective for you?

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Brand focus: Forever Living facial regime

Yesterday was my four month "blogiversary", however I've been avidly reading beauty blogs for a number of years now and I find the more I get into blogging, the more interested I become in finding the perfect skincare routine to suit my skin.

If you're a regular reader of mine, you may remember I reviewed the Forever Living Aloe Scrub just over a month ago and I'd also mentioned that I'd been given the opportunity to trial out a few other Forever Living products and as promised, I said I would report back my fndings.

I was kindly given a facial kit which consisted of an Aloe Hand and Face Soap (RRP £10.84), the Aloe Scrub (RRP £12.92), the Aloe Activator (RRP £11.53), the Mask Powder (RRP £16.43) and the Aloe Moisturising Lotion (RRP £12.24).

In order to get the best out of the products, you are advised to follow the following routine two to three times a week:

The instructions were as follows, wash your face with the Aloe Hand and Face Soap, use the Aloe Face Scrub, mix the Activator with the Powder to create a face mask, and finally moisturise with the Aloe Moisturising Lotion.

I followed this routine twice weekly for a month, which I feel gave me enough time to get a feel for the products and discover whether they were right for me. I will give you my verdict on each product individually.

First up is the Aloe Hand and Face Soap. I must admit I had my reservations into using the same product on my hands and face, and I was right to. As a hand soap, it's rich and moisturising, and left my hands clean and smelling lovely. However, as a facial cleanser, it just didn't suit my skin. It was a little heavy for my sensitive skin and broke me out for a number of days afterwards. This product is highly concentrated with aloe, which is probably what contributed to the breakout.

Next up is the Aloe Scrub, which I won't go into too much depth on as I reviewed this on its own in April, if you haven't seen that post already, check it out here. This is a lovely product that changed my negative outlook on using facial scrubs. It isn't harsh or gritty on my skin. After use, I'm left with bright and awakened looking skin. My favourite product of the bunch!

Now for the time consuming part of the routine, which comes in the form of the face mask, which is the Aloe Activator and the Mask Powder used in conjunction with one another. I've got to say despite this part of the process taking the longest, the results are worth the wait. To create the mask, mix one teaspoon of Mask Powder with one teaspoon of the Aloe Activator until the mixture has the consistency of a lotion. You then apply to your face and neck, before relaxing for 30 minutes, then removing and rinsing with warm water. The mask left my skin feeling soft but also tightened. Post use, I felt like I was unveiling a bright, new face. An added bonus of the Mask Powder for me, was that it contains Chamomile, which soothes and calms sensitive skin. I did get a little fidgety having to wait for 30 minutes but in fairness I was impressed with the results.

The Activator can also be used alone as a cleanser or freshener with cotton pads, however I didn't feel as though it did as much for my skin by itself, so I continued to use it with the Mask Powder.

The final step in the Forever Living facial regime was the Aloe Moisturising Lotion, which contains collagen and elastin, which keeps skin soft and smooth. This is a face and body moisturiser, and personally I preferred using this on my body rather than face. I found it too thick to use on my face. However on my arms, legs and the rest of my body, it left my skin in tip-top condition. I must also add I rather liked the product's scent - which I thought was a slight "banana-ish" smell... Maybe my nostrils were confused but I liked it all the same!

Overall, these are a good set of products and being fairly multi-use, if they didn't work for me one way, they certainly did another way. My quest for the perfect skincare routine is still ongoing but individually these are good products.

The products can be purchased at www.foreverliving.com or from your local independent distributor for Forever Living, mine is Susan Boag and her site can be found at bellavera.my.flpbiz.com.

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April favourites

Despite April probably being the busiest month of the year so far, it was definitely my favourite month of 2014 yet. Lots of hard work was done but there were a couple of lovely birthdays celebrated, my best friend, Craig has gone to work in Mallorca for six months, despite feeling sad that he's gone, I'm thrilled that he's having a wonderful time over there, oh and there's been plenty of blog progress, including a lovely little revamp - thanks to the boyfriend for that. Oh and I'm sorry to be a total fangirl BUT... *cough* the wonderful Essie Button shared my blog with her 76k+ Twitter followers *cough* - she enjoyed my Essie Button made me... post! Win!

So yep, April was pretty good but now I shall hush up and crack on with my most loved and reached for beauty products of the past month, and I've got to say, it's quite a luxurious list. Here goes:

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - £37

If I could use any iPhone Emoji to sum up my feelings on this palette, it would be the 'heart-eyes' one, you know the one! I've had this little treasure of a palette for just over a month now and I adore it. Throughout April I reached for this palette on a number of occasions to create some lovely night time looks. One look I enjoyed creating in particular, was a subtle shimmery eye teamed with some winged liquid eyeliner. This look finished off my outfit at one of my best friend's 21st birthday Gatsby party perfectly. The shades I used to create this look were Dust - an extremely shimmery, peachy pink with A LOT of glitter, Buzz - a glittery, satin rose, and Nooner - a matte taupe. I wore Nooner all over the lid and finished the look off with the shimmery, glittery shades and of course, the winged liner. (Apologies for not having any pictures of this eye look!) I know this is a favourites post but I do have one gripe with one shade in this palette and oddly enough, the shade is Dust - that I have just mentioned. There is far too much fall out in Dust! Other than that, it's a stunning palette.

Ciate Paint Pot in Pocket Money - £9

This was another beauty product that finished off the Gatsby party look. It's a beautiful nude shade, that's somewhat pinkier than your typical nude nail polish. It's an extremely elegant shade and the formula is lovely. It lasted me a good four to five days without any highly noticeable chipping. This is a little pinkier than Nooner, in the Naked 3 Palette. Being a sucker for pretty packaging, I must say the bottle is presented beautifully with a lovely black ribbon to finish it off. Trés elegant.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lipstick in 33 La Distinguée - £26

This is not just an April favourite, this is a lifetime and a day favourite. I reached for this little beauty a number of times in April and as always, it finished off any look, day or night, gorgeously. La Distinguée is a moderately dusty pink with a very subtle hint of peach. It's beautiful and my all time favourite lipstick shade. This isn't a Gatsby party themed post I swear, but teaming this with the Naked 3 Palette and Ciate's Pocket Money was just a dusty pink dream! Despite its matte formula, I don't find this drying at all. Look out for a post dedicated to this lipstick in future because as you can tell I adore it. 

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - £13

This product featured in my Essie Button made me... post. I've worn a winged eye a number of times this month and I've absolutely loved it. The pen makes the detestable liquid eyeliner application process somewhat less detestable for me - big praise indeed! As I've previously said, it's the perfect black liquid eyeliner for me and it does not budge all day/evening.


La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus - £15.50 *

Its predecessor featured in my February favourites and since using the revamped version over the past month, I'm smitten. This product reduces any redness that comes after any skin outbreaks and I've found its actually improved the overall redness of my skin, which has given me the confidence to go a number of days foundation-free during April! See here for a full review of this.



Have a fab May and lovely Bank Holiday weekend all - I'm off to watch McBusted tonight in Birmingham, so I'm a tad excited to say the least! Thanks for reading!

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La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus

I'm one of those people that lives by the old saying: "If it ain't broke don't fix it" - I had been a huge fan of La Roche-Posay's original formula, Effaclar Duo for around 12 months. I even repurchased the stuff - a beauty addict's way of saying: "this is some pretty good shizz". So at the start of the year when I'd heard that the much-loved spot treatment had been discontinued BUT replaced with a revamped version, the Effaclar Duo + Plus I've got to admit, I was a little anxious but I had heard it did everything that the original did, on top of helping to reduce and prevent scarring.

About a month ago, the kind people at La Roche-Posay offered me the chance to try out the new formula, which was fantastic as I was keen to see whether the Effaclar Duo + Plus lived up to its predecessor.

I've never really had particularly problematic skin but I found that using the Effaclar Duo daily helped to keep my skin clear. It claimed to 'reduce the appearance of imperfections and unclog sebum-blocked pores' - which it did.

Does the new version do this? Yes, it does. Like the original, it helps to keep breakouts at bay. It's a preventative treatment, so with that in mind, remember it won't clear up current outbreaks on first application but it will reduce the frequency of them in future. This is a product that you have to persevere with - but not for a terribly long period of time, I found it to be effective in around a fortnight.

Now for the 'newness' - this updated version claims to prevent red and brown marks. La Roche-Posay claim that the new formula not only targets blemishes, clogged pores and excess sebum, but it also eliminates acne marks from the moment they start to form, thanks to an exclusive anti-marks active ingredient called Procerad.

Do I believe this updated version does anything in tackling the marks that come after blemishes? Yes I do and in fact, I feel that the product has done wonders in reducing the overall redness of my skin, so much so that this month, I've gone many days without wearing any foundation at all! Don't get me wrong, my skin has always been okay but it's rare that I feel confident enough to leave the house without any sort of base on my skin.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the results of the revamped formula and like I did with its predecessor, I will certainly be repurchasing this stuff when it eventually runs out! The original Effaclar Duo was great, however the Effaclar Duo + Plus just goes that step further for your skin.

You can get your hands on La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus (RRP £15.50), from Boots or via online beauty and skincare hotspot, Escentual.

Thanks for reading!

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A naughty and wholly unnecessary drugstore haul

As the title suggests this is a bit of a naughty post. This documents a recent half an hour I spent in Boots and I just thought I would show you what ended up in my basket.  After a busy working week not so long ago, I fancied a couple of cheap and cheerful drugstore pick-me-ups.

A number of these purchases are inspired by some of my favourite bloggers who have been raving about some of these products recently and a couple are products I've tried before. Anyway before I ramble on any further I will crack on with telling you what I bought:

Nivea In shower Body Moisturiser - £3.56

I first tried this stuff ages ago but this is only the second time I've bought this. It's lovely, it contains almond oil, so it leaves my skin feeling extremely soft post shower. It smells delicious too. However, the real selling point for me is that it saves you moisurising after you've showered and as I'm sure I've probably stated on the blog before, I'm all for corner cutting products!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation - £6.99

I haven't tried this yet but this is a purchase inspired by the wonderful Faye from Faye's Fix. She's been raving about this recently and I decided to see what the fuss was about. She likens this to Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation. Ever since using and LOVING, I hasten to add, Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation, I'm more open minded towards drugstore foundations and expect big things following on from my recent Rimmel experience. Rimmel says this foundation is enhanced with Sapphire Radiance for an illuminating glow, which sounds pretty lovely to me. My only concern with this is I think I may have bought a shade that's too light for me! Yep, you read that correctly, a pale Prudence like me may have found a drugstore foundation too light for her. This is actually a big deal and even if this is too light for me, kudos to Rimmel for catering for paler complexions. FYI - I have this in the shade, Light Porcelain. 

 VO5 Smoothly Does It Tame and Shine Spray - £3.89

This is one of the few purchases that isn't a naughty one. This is just a really good heat defence spray and a product that I repurchase time and time again. Nothing more to say on this really.

Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Wash off Deep Purifying Cleanser - £8

Another product that I'm yet to try but extremely looking forward to using is this creamy cleanser, which contains supposedly 'super' T-zone decloggers, antioxidant-rich Peach and Gojuice extracts and detoxifying Oxyginseng technology. This smells exactly how you'd imagine, peachy! I can't wait to get stuck in with this as my past experience with Soap & Glory skincare has been pretty good.

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara - £8.99

I'm looking forward to livening up my lashes with this mascara. This was mostly an impulse purchase but it was also partially inspired by my love of a L'Oreal mascara, the False Lash Telescopic, which is my holy grail mascara. The Miss Manga mascara is all about the volume, whereas I find the False Lash Telescopic to be more lengthening really, so this could mix it up a bit for me.

Simple Kind To Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion - £2.99

This may well be the unsexiest product you will ever find. That sentence may sound bad to you but trust me it isn't, this product has been good to me. This is a product I will always repurchase without a second thought, it's reasonably priced and does what it says on the bottle and it's kind on my sensitive skin. It's loyal to me and I will always return that loyalty by repurchasing. After all, you can't go wrong with a bit of Simple really can you?

Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer - £7.99

I bought this in the shade Light. This was an Essie Button inspired purchase, so surely that means I don't need to elaborate any further? If she loves it, I'm sure it's excellent. I also like the look of the sponge applicator. I'm hoping this hides away those pesky dark circles of mine, which I do suffer from occasionally.

Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream - £2.99

Cheap, cheerful and another Faye from Faye's Fix inspired buy. I have these in the shades Cotton Candy, which is a 'your lips but better' pink, and Fairy Cake, which is a bright but not too bright pink. Despite applying creamy, these have a matte finish, which I love and I don't find them to be too drying like many other matte formulas can be. Another plus point is how sweet these smell. Lovely!

Look out for full reviews of these products in the future!

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Review of Forever Living Aloe Scrub

Hello and happy Saturday all - today I will be reviewing Forever Living's Aloe Scrub.

Not so long ago I was kindly given a number of Forever Living products to review and one of the items that has really stood out to me while testing them out so far is the Aloe Scrub.

First and foremost, I've got to say I wasn't expecting to enjoy using this product much at all. I've had a few so-so experiences with facial scrubs in the past. I've found many of them to be much too harsh on my sensitive skin. I've always found that the beads in many facial scrubs irritate my face, leaving my skin sore and in a worse condition than it was prior to using them.

However, this scrub has totally changed my perception on using scrubs as part of my skincare routine.

Forever Living's Aloe Scrub contains 'micro-spheres' of jojoba oil suspended in pure aloe vera. These two natural ingredients are meant to clear the way for the skin's renewal process.

It claims to be gentle enough to use everyday, a statement I was dubious of based on my previous experiences with scrubs.

Despite, my reservations I decided to see whether I could use this product on a daily basis and I can confirm over the past week I've used this product everyday prior to moisturising and it's left me with bright and radiant looking skin. Result!

This scrub isn't harsh or gritty on my skin at all. It's cooling and extremely refreshing.

I apply it to wet skin, before gently massaging it for around two minutes in a circular motion, which 'transforms' the scrub's texture - I find that it becomes creamy once massaged in. A real plus point for me is the smell of the product, I think some people may find it perhaps a little too clean if that's possible but I like it, it smells wonderfully fresh.

I'm not left with any oiliness, dryness or redness, just soft, plump looking skin. Overall, a good product.

Forever Living's Aloe Scrub (RRP £12.92) can be purchased at www.foreverliving.com or from your local independent distributor for Forever Living, mine is Susan Boag and her site can be found at bellavera.my.flpbiz.com.

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Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum

Being new to this whole blogging lark, I was extremely excited to have been sent Avene's Soothing Hydrating Serum  (£17) from Escentual to try out and review.

Firstly I've got to say I've never used a serum before, nor have I ever considered using one, so I have nothing to compare this product to. However, I've used this product for a week and a half now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

This silky feeling serum sinks into my skin right away and doesn't feel greasy at all. I use this morning and evening after I've cleansed my face. I leave it for a few minutes before applying La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo [+] - expect a review of that soon.

How the serum looks.

Post use, my skin feels so supple and soft! If I had used this product during the colder months, my dry, winter ravaged skin would have been banished for sure.

The product, which is highly concentrated in Avene Thermal Spring Water, aims to soothe and moisturise even the most sensitive of skin. It also contains glycerin which improves the skin's hydration and suppleness.

Overall, despite never considering using a serum before, having been pleased with the results of using one so far, this will continue to make up part of my daily skincare routine. I can't wait to see the long term effect this serum has on my skin, I shall keep you updated on that.

In the meantime, while I'm raving about this product, why not try it out for yourself by visiting www.escentual.com, Escentual is the go to place to get your hands on a variety of French skincare brands including Avene, La Roche-Posay, Vichy and Bioderma, to name a few. What's more, Escentual are currently offering up to 1/3 off French Pharmacy brands until the end of March - so I suggest you have a browse now if you fancy mixing up your current skincare routine!

NB - The box arrived dented.

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February favourites

As we are now well and truly into March, what would the beginning of a new month be without a blogger telling the world what products they enjoyed using and reached for the most during the past month?

My February favourites.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £37

Usually I get the most wear out of this palette during the evenings. However, during February I used this palette a few times during the day, opting for a subtle daytime look using two extremely pretty shades, 'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow, and 'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade. I wore 'Sin' all over the lids and 'Toasted' in the outer crease and I must say, they make a good shadow team! The look wasn't too heavy for the daytime and certainly brightened up my eyes. I adore this palette and I feel that I subconsciously went for the two pinkier shades in this palette because I'm (still) dying to get my hands on the third Naked Palette, which is all about the pinks and rose gold shades.

'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow. 

'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque - £18.50

This little beauty served me well during the past month. For those mornings when I woke up having not quite had my solid eight hours of sleep, this worked wonders in tackling a dark under eye. The product has a slight pink tint to it, in order to cancel out any darkness. I feel this product works better than a standard concealer for me as the consistency is so creamy, it blends in extremely well, doesn't crease and really brightens my under eye area.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque.

Sleek Blush in Pixie Pink - £4.49

A monthly favourite it certainly is, but I could go as far as to say this is one of my favourite blushers of all time. That's a big statement, as I LOVE blush. I reached for this pretty much everyday during February. It may look slightly daunting as it is very pigmented but applied with care and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, it looks lovely on a fair complexion. A gorgeous, soft pink that makes for the perfect springtime shade and an added bonus is it's a great drugstore dupe for Nars' Gaeity, which retails at a pricier £21.50.

Swatch of Sleek's Pixie Pink.

Bourjois Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow - £6.99

Another pink(ish), bronze eyeshadow here. I'm not 100 per cent sure but I think I have the shade 'Petale de Glace'. These are a cream to powder texture, which is what drew me to purchasing it. During a few days in February I wore it and it made for a lovely, neutral daytime eye look. The product is shimmery but not too shimmery for the day. The colour pay off is good and I didn't find it to crease at all. I am tempted to try a few other shades in the range, however they look deeper than this, so will probably work best in the evenings.

(nb -I NEED to say: product is spelt 'color', I haven't made an error :P)

Swatch of Bourjois' Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo - £12

This is my second tube of this stuff and I must say I'm still enjoying it. I stopped using this for about a month but got well and truly back into it during February and if used everyday, does work wonders for my skin. I don't have particularly terrible skin but I find using this everyday does keep my skin pretty clear. You don't need much of it at all. It's a corrective and unclogging treatment that I find to be gentle on the skin. On the back of the tube it says it 'reduces the appearance of imperfections and unclogs sebum-blocked pores', and I think it does. The only downside for me now however, is this product has been discontinued... but fear not, La Roche-Posay have brought out Effaclar Duo [+] Plus. I believe the only difference in the revamped version is that it helps to reduce and prevent scarring, as well as what it already does. (Correct me if I'm incorrect here someone.)

Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask - £22

Wow. Wow. Wow. This stuff. What a superb product. Sorry to sound over the top here but I cannot sing this mask's praises enough. I have never used a product that is so effective in such a short space of time, it makes a real difference right away. I never in a million years would have thought to have picked up this product, however I was perusing the Origins stand in Boots not so long ago and was given this sample by a lovely sales assistant. I didn't really pay it any attention and didn't use it until recently. However, a little while ago my skin was having lets just say 'a bit of a moment' and on reading up on this mask, I decided to take action fast. Many said the active charcoal in the mask draws out impurities right away and that it did! The charcoal acts as a magnet and brings those pesky impurities right to the surface. Prior to application you have to open up your pores with warm water. I apply it fairly thickly to any impurities, which mostly occur on my t-zone, I leave it 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Right away my skin feels very clean and any breakouts are greatly reduced. When I eventually run out of this sample, I will certainly be purchasing the full size product. 

Stella McCartney Lily Eau De Parfum - £43.50

I had a 30ml bottle of Lily for Christmas and it's the only fragrance I've worn this year. My signature scent has been Chance by Chanel for years but I think this may well have stolen that title. I don't want to get the notes incorrect so here is how Ms McCartney herself describes it: "Top notes evoke the rich, mineral freshness of truffle. Heart notes of green and luminous lily of the valley create an irresistible addiction. Base notes reveal the earthy warmth of oak moss." For a woman's fragrance, it has a masculine sort of smell to it but in an extremely pleasant way. I tend to prefer a lot of male scents and this kind of explains that. It's a fresh, earthy yet slightly floral scent. I love it, worn day or night it lasts ages on me. Stunning.

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