Having a flawless complexion is something that us girl's dream about, day and night. Although we should, and are told to try, our uttermost hardest to embrace our imperfections, it is very difficult when you have a huge spot in the middle of your forehead. Personally, I am not very confident in my skin so I like to find tips and tricks to help me feel more comfortable in myself. Here are few things I do to help my skin feel clean and flawless!

1. I'm going to start with something I am 100% guilty of (as you can evidently tell from the images above) - CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES. Washing your brushes is such a simple thing that we all forget to do - I always delay chores like this because it literally takes me forever to wash and dry all of my brushes. However, by taking the time to clean your facial brushes, it can seriously help your skin. Oils and bacteria swiftly build up in your brushes over a short time frame and we all know what excess oil and bacteria leads to...SPOTS!

2. You've definitely all heard this before but maintaining a skin routine, personal to your own skin type, is beneficial when trying to eliminate impurities. Fortunately, I don't suffer with any extreme cases of spots or 'breakouts' but whenever a lovely spot forms on my face, it's HUGE! To try an avoid this as much as possible, I have a little routine consisting of cleansing water, eye make-up remover, cleansing lotion and moisturizer for my dry skin. Although I don't recommend this, I sometimes take my makeup off using wipes when I'm feeling lazy. There is no harm doing this but just make sure you have nights where you cleanse your face properly to avoid sleeping in makeup overnight. That is literally the WORST mistake you can make.

MY DRY SKIN ROUTINE

Firstly, I pour a small amount of Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water onto some cotton pads and remove the majority of my base makeup. Following this step, I use the Garnier Fresh Eye Make-up Remover to take off my mascara, liner and eyeshadow. After my face is makeup-free, I take my Skinology Cleansing lotion and apply a generous amount to my face - this helps to remove any excess makeup that might be deeper in the pores or that I may have missed. Finally, Garnier's Moisture Match for Normal/Dry skin is my ultimate dry skin saviour. I have non-stopped used this since the day I bought it. The creamy, smooth formulation is to die for and the smell reminds me of holidays!

(P.S This post isn't sponsored by Garnier, I just loooooove their skincare)

3. One of my favourite ways to disguise my spots is to smother my under eye circles and spots with  concealer. OK, maybe 'smother' isn't the right word but I can't help applying several layers of my two favourite under-eye concealers to hide the darkness. I highly recommend 'L'Oreal Lumi Magique' in light and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat in '02' if you're looking to highlight dark circles. Their formulation is a dream, blending evenly into the right creases and areas on my face I wish to be disguised.

Alternatively, if I have more time, I like to use my colour correction palette from E.L.F Cosmetics. Usually, I apply the green concealer onto my cheeks. Green concealers are designed to neutralize red tones on the face and this seriously helps to minimize my rosiness. However, avoid using this on dark spots/areas as this can accentuate those areas, making them more visible. The pink concealer contrasts the green - wear this on dark circles or spots to gain coverage but not on areas of redness.

4. I guess this number 4 is sort of a hack? Cold metal is a great wait to counteract redness on the skin. Therefore, if my skin is particularly red, I place a spoon in the freezer and leave it for 10-15 minutes. This seriously helps to reduce the redness on my cheeks and it is such a simple and quick way to achieve an even skin tone.

5. My favourite of them all. If you are feeling unconfident in your skin or with a particular spot on your face, drawing attention to other areas is key. Personally, I love to use dark colours on my eyes or lips to accentuate them. Tip: Use your favourite facial feature to your advantage - whether it be your cheekbones, lips or brows - flaunt your most-loved feature by using makeup products to enhance them. I love to wear dark lips so above are my top 6 lips I switch between when my skin is being disastrous.

~Makeup Revolution 'Rebel with a Cause' ~ MAC 'Rebel' ~ Too Faced Melted Velvet ~ MAC 'Dark Side' ~ Makeup Revolution '100% Vamp' ~ Nars Audacious 'Charlotte' ~

What do you do to eliminate spots? What is your favourite skincare product?

Lots of love

Today's brand focus is a brand that has rose dramatically in popularity over the past few years. Prior to receiving my Essence goodie bag, I had only ventured as far as their liquid glitter eye products and lipsticks so I was extremely excited to see what else they had to offer. Already, I was expecting good things, as I was rather impressed at the quality of their lipsticks, despite the inexpensive pricing.

Essence are a cosmetic company that are sold exclusively in Wilkinson's in the UK; however, when I went to Ireland a couple of years ago, they were selling Essence in a shop called Pennies (I believe it's the equivalent of Primark in England). 

Nail Polish is something that always seems a chore to me. However, whenever I buy new polishes, I cannot help but quickly apply them. My go-to colour to wear on a daily basis is nude - it's just perfect for sixth form and every day wear because of the versatility of the colour. This makes matching your nails to your outfits a solvable issue. Anyway, these gel polishes were something I was excited to get my hands on. I love gel polish and have had my nails painted with 'shellac' many a time - I couldn't wait to try it on myself. Unfortunately, I didn't capture a photo with them on but the product lasted on my nails for 6 straight days. Usually, drugstore nail polishes chip within a day or two so this was a huge difference from me. Get your hands on these while you can girlies!

Have you purchased anything from Essence before? What are your favourite summer nails polishes?

Lots of love

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These products were received in collaboration with Essence Cosmetics. All opinions are honest and my own.

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about a bringing a series to my blog - one that I know I will be able to manage and keep going every month. Being a huge beauty lover, I thought that I could potentially focus on a brand(s), at least one post a month, and give my honest opinions on all the products I own from them. I'm planning to showcase brands both highly recognised and upcoming, whether it be telling to guys about my favourite highend brand or expressing my love for an afforable brand that not many know about. Who knows, I might incorporate some fashion brands in the future if this goes down well?

The first brand we are going to zoom into is Live Love London - a company that have recently released a new beauty range exclusive to BHS. From haircare to makeup, Live Love London offer it all beauty-wise with affordable prices attached! However, the products that particularly intrigued me were their face palettes and lipsticks. Here is how I got on...

Bronze & Light Palette £6.75

What we have here is one of the most aesthetically pleasing bronze,blush and highlight palettes I've seen on the high street side of the spectrum. Encased in a sleek, black compact, 6 beautiful shimmer shades are arranged. Each shade is extremely diverse - something hard to find in any palette. I find that a lot of companies produce cosmetics that are TOO similar in the same palette, making me question whether it is worth the buy. Also, most shades are EXTREMELY pigmented (the bottom row and the white highlight), although I wouldn't count this as a negative point simply because I prefer blush shades to be sheer. This helps me to apply the shade subtly and not end up turning into a toy doll. 

Top Row (left to right)

~ A peach/coral toned pink with tiny golden glitter particles ~

~ A muted, mauve pink with a metallic sheen ~

~ A pure champagne white enriched with thousands of silver glitter ~

Bottom Row (left to right)

~ A salmon pink layered with a metallic, iridescent glow ~ 

~ A muted, mustard brown with flecks of golden glitter ~ 

~ An intense orange-copper with high metallic overtones ~ 

My personal favourites are two highlighting shades - the white and salmon pink will both look incredible on the cheeks for summer because of their glitter intensity. I just LOVE glitter!!! 

Today's post incorporates two of my New Year's resolutions - becoming healthier/fitter and trying new foods. I am honestly one of the fussiest people when it comes to food - if it looks gross, then I won't be eating it. However, I've been trying lots of new foods and have 90% liked those that I've eaten. 

Protein bars are something I've never really delved into before, despite wanting to know what they taste like and if they work effectively. I am in no way a fitness expert but believe protein bars to be either a healthy snack or a fitness stimulant prior to exercise, helping to gain muscle. Recently, I've discovered Crobar - a brand that has created an obscure protein bar (containing cricket flour!) in which is more economically friendly to the environment, as well as helping you to achieve your goals.

INGREDIENTS

PEANUT & CRICKET FLOUR - Peanuts, Sultanas, Dates, Sunflower Seeds and Cricket Flour (182 calories per 40g bar)

CACAO & CRICKET FLOUR - Cashews, Sunflowers Seeds, Sultanas, Dates, Chia Seeds, Cricket Flour, Cacao Powder, Goji Berries, Cacao Nibs and Natural Flavouring (183 calories per 40g bar)

As the bars are sourced from animal protein, they ensure all 9 essential amino acids enter the body. Also, iron levels are extremely high - surprisingly, crickets hold twice as much iron as spinach do! Moreover, Gathr Food's Crobars aid efficient use of animal feed, less water and air pollution, reduce food waste and enhance better animal welfare. 

TASTE

For myself, I would describe this to have an acquired taste - something in which I am not familiar with. Unfortunately, I cannot compare this to an alternative protein bar as I haven't ventured out to try out yet. The taste, personally, was quite bitter and I personally didn't enjoy them; however, if you love the taste of dates and sultanas you will probably be very pleased. 

Have you ever tried protein bars before? What do you think of them?

Lots of love