The Weekend Pamper || Empties #1

Empties, while not the most unique post idea, are one of my favourite blog posts to read. I love to hear what products my favourite bloggers have used up, I feel like it’s a good indication of a good product. I've kept all these products for a number of reasons, firstly I'm a bit of a recycler. DIY toners and pillow sprays all require a little sprayer bottle. Secondly, Jurlique do an awesome return program where if you return your empty tubes or bottles, they give you 10% off the same product. Finally, I've kept all these products in hope of writing one of these posts. I've got some body bits and some skincare, but no makeup. Does anyone else find makeup impossible to use up?

Starting off with the body bits, I've finished up the Jurlique Jasmine Shower Gel and Body Care Lotion. A lovely sent and a lovely product. Both of these lasted me a whole year before I needed to replace them. I'll eventually repurchase these but I'm currently working my way through the Citrus versions.

A couple of toners were next to go, the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Mist and the Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner. Both of these were OK, I am holding off a repurchase of both of these, I'm looking into trying the new Jurlique Calendula Redness Rescue Calming Mist next.

Bioderma reigns as the favourite makeup remover and a repurchase is about to happen. Makeup and sunscreen glides off like no other with a cotton wipe drenched in this cleansing water. Although Priceline now stocks Bioderma, it’s near impossible to get a bottle because it’s always out of stock. If I'm out of luck I'll have to resort to ordering it online.

I've also used up the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream and repurchased another in a Christmas box set. A lovely product which keeps dryness at bay whilst also preventing fine lines from developing.

Two spot treatments have also been used up, the Aesop Control Gel and the Origins Super Spot Remover. The Aesop worked fantastically with my skin, quickly removing all spots. I suspect that it’s the Niacinamide because I had such good results with the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum which also uses Niacinamide. The Origins however I found a bit useless. I'll repurchase the Aesop soon, but not the Origins.

Finally, some moisturising bits. The first to go was the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum, which I've sung praises to here. I've since repurchased in the 100ml bottle, it’s that good. My favourite daily moisturiser, the GrownOrganics Matte Moisturiser was also finished off recently. The perfect product for me, moisturising yet mattifying and smoothing to provide a perfect canvas for makeup.

What products have you finished off recently?

X Suzy  

The Skincare || How Much is my Face Worth in Skincare?

Coming to you this week is a couple of posts featuring the "How much is my face worth?" tag. I've seen this post around on a couple of blogs and I've always been interested in writing a post myself. As skincare is such a love of mine, it's only appropriate for me to do two of these posts, one featuring my skincare, and another featuring my makeup. As you've probably guessed by the title, this post is focussed on my skincare. Without further delay, here is the total cost of my daily skincare, prepare you're self for a big shock. 

Firstly, in the morning I cleanse my face with the Jurlique Balancing Cleansing Lotion ($45), tone with the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Mist ($32), tap on the Herbal Recovery Eye Cream ($52) and follow with the Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum ($75). I'm not obsessed with the Herbal Recovery range at all. If there are any spots present, that means everyday, I dab on a bit of the Aesop Control Gel ($23). I finish of the morning with a pea sized amount of the Grown Alchemists Matte Moisturiser ($60). So mornings come to a grand total of $287. Ouch. 

In the evenings I start by taking a cotton pad loaded in Bioderma ($30) all over my face. The Jurlique Balancing Cleansing Lotion ($45) from the morning is used again. It's followed up by the REN Clarifying Toning Lotion ($40) and the Herbal Recovery Mist ($32) from the morning. The eye cream ($52) and the serum ($75) used in the morning are also used again followed with the Jurlique Calendula Cream ($85) and the Aesop Control Gel ($23). This brings my evening total to: $383. Ok, so that's a lot more than what I thought it would be. And so the grand total of my daily skincare routine comes too $443 (I subtracted the products which I use twice). Mega ouch. Let's not calculate the added costs of my bi-weekly at home facials. I'm hoping to redeem myself with a relatively small daily makeup cost, check in on Friday for that.  

How much do you think your skincare costs you?

X Suzy 

The Skincare || Super Spot Fighters

Over eating, sweet foods, drinking and laziness are all synonyms of the silly season. Unfortunately  for me, this leaves me with a number of huge spots and congested skin. Luckily, I have a pretty good spot fighting combination that dramatically reduces the size of the zit. 

First up is cleansing, the corner stone of a good skincare routine. I'm trying not to over dry my skin at the moment, and I've made the switch from the Jurlique Foaming Purifying Cleanser to the Jurlique Balancing Cleansing lotion when I'm not wearing makeup or sunscreen. The foaming cleanser still comes in handy when I need to remove makeup and SPF, however I know I should ditch it. The fact that I have two mostly full bottles of it means that it will be with me for quite some time still. 

Another step which I have found essential to combat zits is by using an exfoliating toner. The one I am currently using is the REN Clarifying Toning Lotion. This is subtle enough to use on a daily basis, and really helps to deep clean my pores, leading to clearer skin. 

Layering the spot treatments is my real secret however. After cleansing and toning, the Aesop Control Gel is applied to all my spots. Serum and moisturiser follows as per usual. Over the moisturiser I will apply more control gel and an enormous amount of the Jurlique Blemish Cream. The good thing about these two products is they will not over dry your skin so you can layer up as much as possible. On really bad spots, a tiny bit of the Jurlique Purifying Mask is applied over night, leaving me with clear(er) skin in the morning.  

The Monthly Roundup || November

I feel like I've only just written the October roundup, but here we are at the end of November. Summer has hit and I've been at the beach and enjoying some sun. I've been big on the purchasing side of things recently (look out for a haul post coming soon), and a number of these new items have turned up in my favourites.

Monthly Favourites:

The most loved product of the month goes to the MAC Blush in Pink Swoon. I brought this at the end of October, and it actually didn't leave my cheeks during the night. I'm not a fan of wearing blush during the day, don't ask why, but I have been loving if on nights out. A very close runner up is the Aesop Control Gel, something I brought on the recommendation of Caroline Hirons. And it's absolutely amazing. I had a bit of a breakout at the start of the month, and thanks to this, it all cleared quickly.

Another favourite brought on the recommendation of Caroline Hirons is the REN Exfoliating Toner. This has been really nice to us on days that I haven't done a 'deep' exfoliation. And I do love that slightly tingling felling of the acid on my skin.

I have found the perfect eyebrow pencil. When I get my eyebrows tinted, they tend to fade fast in the inner corners. Which leads to blond at the start and brown towards the ends. In order to stop me looking like a creature with two toned eyebrows, I'll pencil this in with the MAC Eye Brows in Lingering. It's the perfect dark brown, with a touch of red, something that suits me. A daily essential.

The final favourite for this month is the Essie Nail Polish in Ballet Slippers. As my first Essie nail polish, this has earned the top place amongst all my nail polishes. It's perfect for every day, and gives that perfect I've just had a manicure look. The longevity of the nail polish isn't the best however.

This Month in Blog Posts:

Here’s all the lovely lotions and potions that save my skin during summer.

This month I was nominated for the Liebster Award!

Check out the usual combination of cheek products that I apply for evenings out here.  

My go to base of the moment is reviewed here.

Finally, two posts which go hand in hand are my Weekend Facial post and my Skin Treatments post.

Added to the Wish List this Month:

With Christmas around the corner, a few products have been added to the wish list. I tend to buy myself cosmetics with any Christmas money I get during the sales, rather than asking for something. First up, I have worked out what colour of the Rebel Nude Glossy Stain I would like, 107 if you’re interested. I also am after an oil absorbing primer and possibly a foundation... 

I’ve spotted this beautiful makeup bag at Country Road, something I’ll pick up in the sales. I’ll also grab myself a pair of these shoes while I’m there.

Finally, my liquid eyeliner is on its way out, and I’m looking for something to replace it with. theBalm Schwing Eyeliner is a possible candidate. I’m all ears for some recommendations!  

The Skincare || Skin Treatments

As mentioned in my Evening Skincare Routine #1 post last week, my treatments section of my routine has so many bits and bobs that it requires its own post. Depending on what my skin needs (usually pimple busting) various treatments are taped on the localised area.

Most of my spot treatments are related to blemish solving, and there is a treatment for each sort of pimple. The Jurlique Blemish Cream comes in handy on those inflamed and swollen pimples. This is by far the favourite of the bunch, smells like tea tree oil and is so effective. It is also very useful for those under the skin blemishes. The Jurlique Purifying Mask works even better on these types of pimples but I like to leave this on overnight.  The Origins Super Spot Remover is perfect for tiny whiteheads and blocked pores thanks to the 1.5% salicylic acid. I am quite prone to popping pimples *slaps self on the back of the hand* and the Calendula Cream form Jurlique is the perfect cream to help the skin repair its self.

Pimple busting aside, I am left with two more problems: scaring and sometimes a random patch of dryness. I've recently been using the Sukin Rose Hip oil to combat the scaring, which has been quite effective. As for those random patches of dry skin, the Calendula Cream is their best friend. 

All these creams and lotions are put on after toning and before my serum to ensure that they are as effective as possible. Before I go to bed, another dose is applied.

X Suzy

The Skincare || Morning Skincare Routine #1

Skincare is my current obsession. That and tea, durrr. I wanted to write a post about my skincare bits and bobs, but that post would be a mile long. Instead I have broken it down into four categories, morning skincare, evening skincare, weekend skincare and miscellaneous skincare. Yes, I have so much skincare that I need a miscellaneous category, that's normal isn't it? And so, I bring you my morning skincare routine, drum roll please. 

I start my day by cleansing with my all time favourite cleanser, the Jurlique Purifying Foaming Cleanser. This one is full of lovely ingredients such as green tea extract, witch hazel extract, and calendula. It foams up quite nicely not too foamy, just perfect.

Next I spot treat my skin with what ever product my skin needs, mostly a blemish cream. My morning blemish cream (yes, I have an evening spot cream) is the Origins Super Spot Remover. I like this one because it sits rather nicely under makeup.

Following the pimple busting, I apply an eye cream, namely the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream. This is a favourite for me, I'm on to my second tube of this. It has really helped with the fine lines but then again, ageing isn't my main concern so I don't know how powerful it really is.

Moving on to to moisturising, I use a combination of two products, the Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner and the Grown Alchemist Matte Balancing Moisturiser. The moisturiser is a recent find for me, and I love it. At first it dries quite tacky, but then it smoothes out to create the nicest, even surface ever. It's so lovely I don't bother with a primer after this!

And that concludes my morning skincare routine, but you may be wondering were my SPF is. Currently, it's Spring and therefore the sun isn't that strong so I can get away with wearing an SPF 35 BB cream for everyday activities(e.g. going to uni, shopping). However, if I was to go outside for a walk or to the beach, I would defs put a proper sunscreen on.

I hope you liked the fist instalment of my skincare series and maybe picked up a few tips along the way. Keep an eye out for the next post in the series, Evening Skincare Routine #1!

Suzy x