Double cleansing

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone has had a lovely bank holiday Sunday! Last one before Christmas yaaasss! I love Autumn/Winter time and everything about it fashion, make up, Halloween.... So much to look forward to! Anyways I've went off on a tangent there so let's get back to what I'm actually meant to be writing about.

So I had heard that term 'double cleansing' a while  ago and hadn't really thought much of it. Then a few weeks ago my skin really wasn't looking it's best, it wasn't the worst it's ever been but it was a bit meh. There was texture on the skin and I had a few spots here and there. I wasn't using anything new on my skin so couldn't blame anything. So one night a couple of weeks ago I was taking my make up off and I had used a wipe and then for some reason I thought I would use some micellar water after it and the amount of make up that was still on my skin was unbelievable. I thought it was all off! That's when I thought I need to start double cleansing and hopefully that would mean my pores would be fully clean at the end of each day and it would sort my skin out.

So at a night I'm using the Lacura Caviar wipes which are only from Aldi and I think they were around about £3.99. So really inexpensive and I follow that with the Garnish Skin Active oil infused micellar water on cotton pads.

The Lacura wipes are not as wet as I would like as I feel like it makes the makeup harder to remove. When I first used these I didn't like them because of them being more on the dryer side and I felt like my make up wouldn't have been removed properly. However, when I went over my face with the micellar water I was so surprised. The wipes had taken all the make up off... I was shook haha! Although I do feel like the wipes are good and remove all the male up I still think it's important to go in with the micellar water after to really cleanse my skin and unclog all the pores and remove any extra make up. I really like the oil infused one and the regular micellar water Garnier do. They are really good at removing make up but do take more effort than a wipe... I'm just lazy I think. The one thing I'm not a fan of is it really stings my eyes when taking off eye make up and it says you can use it on eyes and it's for sensitive skin. I think my eyes might be extra sensitive though as they water really easily anyways and I just make sure to not use too much of it around the eye area now. Apart from that I love it.

And the final bit of cleansing I've started doing is on a morning. Now some people might find this disgusting but I used to wash my face on a morning with just water. However, I have started using the Garnier soothing botanical cleansing milk from the Skin Active range. I really like this cleanser I love the smell of it, how gentle it is and I love how it makes my skin feel. I don't think it would be strong enough to remove all of my make up at night but it is a great morning cleanser.

I have found that cleansing on a morning and the double cleansing at night has really helped my skin clear up and although there is still a bit of texture there, it isn't half as bad as it was.

I would deffo recommend giving these products a try if you haven't already and if you have or you double cleanse let me know below and what you think of it.

Until next time,
Lucy x

Weight loss Wednesdays

Hello again :)

So if you follow my Instagram you would have seen my post last night in which I showed that I got my stone and a half award from slimming world last night yayyyyy! I feel like this has taken quite a while for me but I suppose they say the slower it comes off the more likely it is to stay off or something like that anyways!

I'm so chuffed and proud of myself for sticking with it. Believe me there have been times when I've had a gain and never wanted to go back or times when I've been having a really stressful week and the last thing I want to do is go and get weighed. But I haven't given up and I think that's the key. There truly is no shame in a gain and you need to learn to draw a line under it and start again.
I feel like a bit of a preacher there! But last night I went and I had lost 3.5 pounds which is amazing and I finally got my stone and a half award! I'm no where near where I set my target weight at but I'm a lot closer than I was and that's great. 

So rather than me rambling if you are reading this you might want to know how I managed that for a loss this week. So I get weighed on a Tuesday night then Wednesday and Thursday I follow the extra easy plan which is the original normal standard plan. Then Friday to Monday I follow the SP plan which is where you only have speed foods and protein foods. You still have your 15 syns and believe me I use them haha! But I feel that the combination of extra easy and sp allow me to get considerable losses and it's not too hard as I don't find it really restricting

I mean do I miss having potatoes, rice and pasta on my SP days.... absolutely but what I see on the scales matter more to me and that's what I think about. Don't get me wrong I know the scales aren't everything but at the minute they are a reall good measure for keeping me on track with my weight loss journey.

So all in all another successful week hoping for another one this week! I will be posting another Slimming World recipe at some point this week and a skincare related one so come back for that!

Lucy x

Until next time,

I'm back!

Hi everyone,

I cannot believe it has nearly been a year since I last posted on here. Time flies. I have said before, I'm sure, that I do mean to post but then life takes over and I simply forget or I'm too tired (excuses) but I am going to try and post on here when I can. I will try every week but I don't like to make promises I can't definitely keep. That's my aim anyways.

So what's new...

Well not a lot really. Still loving make up and trying different skincare brands to try and make my skin the best it can be.I am 25 now and I want to keep those wrinkles well at bay for the longest I can! So I will still be doing make up and skincare related posts. I might also just do general posts about what I have been up to if I have done anything interesting or been anywhere nice.

 Last time I was active on here I think I had just started Slimming World, well that was short lived. I don't think I was in the right mindset which you need to be when losing weigh and I wasn't there so I quit. But I rejoined in April after nearly gaining all the weight back that I had lost with SW the first time around. Which wasn't much but I was still over 2 stone heavier than I would like to be.

It was the encouragement from my friends and family that made me realise I needed to rejoin and give it a proper go... even if some opinions were hard to hear! That's what I needed and I am so glad I rejoined. I rejoined at the end of April and since then I have lost 1 stone and 4.5 pounds which I am so happy about. Still a way to go but well on the way there. I don't think anything other than being really determined has helped me get so far, I have had my birthday, a festival and a 2 week holiday within that time so to lose that much I am proud. Anyways, I will be continuing doing my Weightloss Wednesday posts as I go to SW on a Tuesday night and I will be able to update you on how I do and it's nice for me to be able to post about it.

So sorry if this has been a rambling sort of post but I think it is hard to restart and I didn't want to just write a post on here and totally disregard that fact I have been gone nearly a year ... that would be weird.

I will leave you with one of my new discovered favourite SW breakfast recipes that I absolutely love. Just a little disclaimer I did't personally make this recipe I don't know who originally came up with it but I love it and thought it would be nice to share with you all.

Almond Baked Oats

40 grams of oats
1 egg
1 tablespoon of sweetner
2 teaspoons of almond essence (you could really use any flavour essence you like it was a friend who suggested this one and I love how strong tasting it is)
50 millilitres of semi skimmed milk
Any fruit to top

So you want to preheat your oven to approx. 200 degrees I normally find that that is hot enough. Then you add all your ingredients into a bowl apart from the fruit. Mix the ingredients together and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes it's ready to eat, just top with your fave fruit and it's good to go, well let it cool a bit first! 

Until next time,
Lucy x

Soft halo eye with bold lips

So as promised here is another make up look. Autumn and Winter are my favourite times of year although I love the sun and it makes me feel happy, I love the colours, make up and fashion for Autumn/ Winter. Bring on all of the lace, leather and vampy colours... I cannot wait!

This look is inspired by Autumn with warm shades on the eyes and a dark vampy red lip. So here is how I created this look...

Foundation

Same as always Nyx stay matte but not flat foundation. This colour is too light for me but I just added bronzer on top.

Concealer

Another oldie but a goodie- Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer in the lightest shade. Used under the eyes to highlight and cover those dark circles.

Powder

My ride or die, Nyx highlight and contour palette. I really need to replace those lighter colours. I used the yellow under the eyes and middle two shades at the bottom to contour (after bronzing).

Bronzer

When I first got this Topshop bronzer I thought it was too dark but applied lightly you can really build the colour up nicely. I use this on the outside of my face just to add some colour so I don't look deathly pale. The shade of this is called Mohawk.

Eyes

So I normally use a mixture of brands on the eyes but I used all shades from the Stila In the Light palette. I've never done a halo eye and I didn't set out to do this but half way through doing my make up I decided I was going to try! So I added the lightest shade, Bare to my whole lid to make sure it was an even colour all over. I then started the build up the colour in the crease with a Mac 217 brush (it's amazing) with the light brown shade called Bliss (its the middle shade on the top row). I just used windscreen wiper motions to blend that in the crease. I then went in with a pencil brush to build up colour Sandstone, the end colour on the top row. And I put this in the inner and outer corners of the lid. Once I did that, I just went back in with the Mac 217 to make sure they were blended properly and there were no harsh lines. I then added Bubbly, a really nice golden shade, the first one on the bottom row, to the centre of the lid. A super soft halo eye look- dead easy.

Eyebrows

Same as usual, I used Illamasqua's brow powder in Thunder. Mix it with a bit of water and it is literally the best brow product I have ever tried!

Highlight

MUA's Shimmer Highlighter in Iridescent Gold, it's still my favourite one that I own. I still think it is very gold toned, hence the name, which I am a bit unsure about but you do get a good glow with it!

Lips

Nyx again, I bet you are all sick of hearing about this brand haha! This is the Nyx Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Cherry Skies. I don't find these drying at all or sticky which I actually prefer when they feel stuck on. This does come off quite easily but is a lovely dark color. I lined my lips using Mac's Currant lipliner. Love this colour slightly more purple than the liquid lipstick I used but you couldn't tell.

Hope you liked this look and I hope you enjoyed reading this and it was easy to follow! I'll be back soon until then I would love to know what your favourtie looks for Autumn are.

Lucy x

Weight Loss Wednesday- Slimming World Journey

I really liked doing this series when I first started it so I thought I would bring it back especially as I'm trying a different approach... no surprise there then! 

Last year I did so well and lost a stone in weight before my holiday to Greece and then I moved house, Christmas came and the weight crept back on. I stopped using my personal trainer not because I wanted to but bills have to be paid! 

So when I stepped on the scales at Slimming World 5 weeks ago... I was shocked... Horrified more like! I have put on 2 stone in less than a year! That's bad!! The reason I joined slimming world was mainly because I had heard good things about it both off people I knew and from looking online and I need to lose weight! I really didn't know much about it apart from the very basics that I had gathered from what people had told me. I was nervous when I first went to my group, I was so worried I would be judged or made to feel guilty but that was the total opposite to what happened. My consultant is a lovely lady and makes you feel so positive and explains everything in a way that makes it easy to understand.

It's been 5 weeks now (I did have one week off as I was away) but if you follow my Instagram you would have seen I got my 1/2 stone award last night. I'm so chuffed! Especially as the week before I had put 1 pound on. I was so disappointed! I felt like crying and was really thinking about not staying for the class- basically the way it works is everyone gets weighed and then you have a Image Therapy class which is basically a group discussion about what's went well or not so well for people that week, what you might do differently and any recipes you've made which have been nice/easy. You have the choice you can just get weighed and go or you can stay for the class as well. I always thought I would just get weighed and go but I have been staying for the classes and I think they definitely motivate you and give you ideas, tips and tricks that should lead you to success. So yeah I was really thinking of not staying for the class when I had put on a pound because I was embarrassed and upset with myself (I know it's only a pound but I wasn't happy) but I forced myself to stay and the support I got really picked me up and made me feel better about the week ahead. And I've had a good week!

When you join you get a little pack which has all of the info you need in it and it's became like my bible. I literally have it with me every day! The first few weeks I needed it at every meal but now I'm getting more used to it, I still refer back to it but not for every single thing.

Personally I think Slimming World is easy to follow but is still really effective. I've seen such good results in such a short space of time and I'm excited about what's to come. 

I dunno if I have mentioned it before but I love stationary and the fact that you get a folder and you get stickers and certificates when you hit goals really motivates me and I know that might sound sad but I love stuff like that! 

I'll keep you updated with my progress through this series each week and how I find Slimming World and I might even share a SW recipe or two that I make!

I hope you've enjoyed reading and if you have tried Slimming World before I would love to know your thoughts! There will also be a make up post tomorrow so make sure you come back for that!

Lucy x

Sunday Funday

Sundays are usually a day where I will sit in the house in my jarmies all day with not a single piece of make up on, eat too much and have at least 2 naps. However, today we decided to go out for a Sunday dinner so I decided I would put a bit of effort into getting ready today. I thought I would do a slight bit of colour in my eye make up and nude lips.... nothing crazy it is a Sunday after all! 

So I decided on an orangey smokey eye as I really like the way orange eye make up looks on blue eyes, compliments them well. I also used a full coverage foundation to make my skin look flawless although some nasty little breakouts still did pop through. I always wear a full coverage foundation as I feel like that's what looks best on my face. Now I did take photos of all the products that I used but I do apologise for the state some of my make up is in,it's embarrassing! I probably don't take as much care of it as I should!

So for my foundation I used Nyx Stay Matte Not Flat foundation in Ivory. I absolutely love the brand Nyx and now that we can get it in a lot of Boots stores in the UK it's like my current favourite brand, I'm obsessed! I do really like this foundation I feel it offers a lot of coverage and does last a long time. The only con is I have went through two tubes of this and I am normally the shade Porcelain but when I went to get another tube that shade was all sold out so I had to get the shade Ivory which I feel is slightly too pale, even for me! However, with some bronzer it works.

I then used my favourite concealer, Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair. I got this after hearing Shaaanxo raving about it. It offers really good coverage whilst still being light enough to highlight under the eyes. You can tell this is well loved :).

To set everything I used the Nyx Contour palette. I got this for my birthday and literally I don't know how I survived without this. As you can tell some of the pans are going to need replacing soon, mostly the light shades but I can honestly say I love every colour in this palette. I think they are all great, nice and pigmented and make your skin look perfect. I also find that the contour colours aren't too dark for me which I have had issues with in the past. I would definitely recommend this palette to everyone! I set my undereyes, my face and did my bronzer and contour with this palette, so versatile!

For brows I used what I have used for the past year or so now which is Illamasqua's brow powder in Thunder. I mix this powder with a little bit of water as I think it makes the brows look much sharper and more defined. I don't really use the rest of the palette, I used to but not so much anymore.

For my eyes I mainly used most of the oranges in the 1st edition BH Cosmetics 120 palette. I absolutely love this palette for creating colourful make up looks. It's really affordable but you still get a really pigmented palette. I used most of the oranges in the crease and under eye area and blended well. I then used the gold shade "bubbly" from the Stila palette on the lid. I then finished off by adding black winged eyeliner, standard.

For highlighter I used a combination of Benefit's high beam and Make Up Academy's shimmer Highlighter.  I used both as I like the effect it gives super glowy, which I would have once not wanted any glow on my face, I was like matte all the way, however now, the more glowy the better! I also used the MUA shimmer highlighter on my brow bone and inner corner to brighten the eyes. Unfortunately, after doing my highlight I dropped the powder and it smashed, absolutely devastated! But I am looking for a good white based highlight, if anyone has any suggestions please leave below because I am lazy and can't be bothered to look for one! Possibly Becca may have one?! Let me know!

Finally to finish I used the Nyx Lip Lingerie in Lace Detail. Now I know liquid lipsticks are all the rage now and I absolutely love them, the thought of ever wearing anything else or a normal lipstick I just cannot see myself doing. I say that then I'll be rocking lip gloss in a years time!  But yeah I love the colour of this one its a lovely nude colour without looking like a foundation lip, not a good look but one everyone used to love! It's also not too drying and doesn't feel sticky.

I hope this has been helpful/interesting to read. I had fun creating this and was a nice way to start off my Sunday.

Lucy x

Look who's back

So yes it's been a while, I don't even know what to title this post! So where have I been?! I feel like life takes over sometimes and things you like to do maybe get left behind for the things you have to do and I know that may seem the worst excuse ever but it's true.

So I was sat at home the other day thinking about my blog, do I close it down or do I leave it up?! But I was sad at the thought of closing it down as I did really enjoy posting on it and sitting here now I love just sitting down and writing down my thoughts so I decided that I would leave it up and start posting again. Not for anything other than a creative outlet and the fact that I enjoy doing it! So what I post about will still be all things beauty, fashion and life related, everything that I enjoy basically! And I know I have talked before on not pressurising myself and setting a target for how much I should post on here but I do like organisation and being consistent so I am going to set a target! So I aim to post on here at least once a week, and if I am having a good week it might be more but for now at least once a week is what I am aiming for!

So a few months back I decided trying to post more make up looks on my Instagram because it was sort of blogging the looks I created but in a quick and convienent way and I kept thinking I needed to put them on here and I just never "found the time". So, if you have read parts of my blog before you will know that I love make up and love trying new looks and just being creative with it- that's essentially what I created my blog for in the first place!

So I want to get back into doing that as that is my true passion it's what I love to do and it's what I enjoy doing. I'll be posting new looks on Instagram again as soon as I can and I will be putting them on here talking about what products I used, what I liked what I didn't, all that good stuff! Of course I'll still do reviews and hauls etc but expect to see a lot more makeup posts! I think why I didn't do this originally is because I doubt myself a lot and thought mainly what if people didn't like it or thought it wasn't good but now that I'm older I really couldn't care less. If I like it and am proud of what I have done why shouldn't I put it on my blog!!

So as it was a while ago I will just put some of my favourite looks below. Let me know what ones you like in the comments below ☺️

Lucy x