Monthly Favourites: March

I've decided I'm going to start doing a monthly favourites post on the last Friday of every month (this was meant to go up yesterday but didn't schedule it to go up. Opps!). I really like posts like these because it gives you an oppurtunity to really showcase products you genuinely love. And everyone likes to see if they can find new products to try.

So this is my first one! I'm not going to focus solely on beauty products because I feel sometimes you don't really change favourites or mibbe didn't like anything you tried that month and it would get really boring. And I'll just be putting them in no real order. Categorised, of course, but in no order of preference.

Beauty

NYX HD Eye Base. I love this stuff. I've had it in my kit for the while and started using it on myself once I got some UD Primer Potions and can I say, it is very comparable. I wouldn't say it is a complete dupe but it's fucking close to one. It doesn't make eyeshadow last just as long as the UDPP and I do see a wee but of oil break through during the day. Despite this, it's cheap and out performs every other primer I've used on my lids.

Argan Oil. Recently, I order some of this for my sister to use on her hair and casually pinched some to use as a moisturiser. I love it, it doesn't smell and it absorbs into the skin really quickly leaving my skin feeling supple. I've also noticed my skin looking more even and a lot brighter since using Argan oil so that's massive thumbs up from me!

Soap & Glory Cheekmate. I've been using this nearly everyday on my lips and cheeks for an effortlessly fresh look. I've done a review on this that can be found here.

Revlon Lip Lacquer in Ingenue. Again, another easy shade to wear. I love slightly browny nudes so this was right up my street. So comfortable and easy to apply due to the crayon style delivery system. Review here.

Misc 

Game of Thrones. This month I finally picked up my first book in 9 months. After I finished University, I was a bit read out. I did reread The Great Gatsby (for the millionth time) and read Herman Hesse's Siddhartha but even though I enjoyed them, I found myself stuggling to read anything longer than 200 pages. So I gave reading a bit of a break.

Until Fronez came along. Loving it so far, it's easy to follow and the simple metephors are nice because I don't need to think too hard on analysing it (yet!). I really love how character driven it is and it's nice to see some Low Fantasy getting love! I do plan on watching the programme but once I've caught up to it bookwise.

Cafe Andaluz. One of my favourite places to eat in the world. If you're ever in Glasgow/Edinburgh and like tapas, go here! The food is amazing, they have a huge selection of different foods and the bitter chocolate mousse is to die for! 

And I think that's it for my March favourites! If you're a fan of any of these products or love Game of Thones... or tapas, let me know!

Happy End of March! Bring on April!

xx

Bloglovin!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12014511/?claim=s44a3kdgthb">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

On Monday I talked about how I was going back on the Conditioner Only No Poo method. No clue what I'm on about? Click here to find out all about it! And while this post wasn't originally planned for this, I thought it would be good to talk about the only treatment I do to my hair to keep it shiny and healthy: an apple cider vinegar rinse. I do this rinse once a week and it's incredibly simple to do and also, very cheap! 

ACV is great for the hair because it helps remove product from the hair shaft, conditions it and can help out with dandruff because it's got an antiseptic quality to it. It also closes the hair shaft and helps to balance out of pH of the hair and scalp. 

What's great about this rinse is that it can be used on all natural hair. It really shouldn't be used on coloured hair as it might strip it and fade the colour but all that aside, you don't need to be doing a No Poo to do this treatment. 

How do we do this?

Easy! I mix about 2 tablespoons (30ml) of ACV to 1 cup of water (250ml) ratio of ACV and water in a spray bottle. You get ACV in any supermarket and you might already have it kicking about in the cupboard. 

While everyone is different, don't go overboard with the vinegar. It is an acid and will damage hair if over used. So just be careful.

I got my AVC from Morrisons, spray bottle from Poundland and water from the tap!

*side note* If you live in a hard water area, I would recommend filtering the water first if possible.

Method

1. You can do this before or after washing but I do it afterwards because the rinse helps to remove any straggling conditioner I might have missed while rinsing my hair. Just get the bottle and saturate your hair in the vinegar mix and massage into the scalp. Aye, you are gonnae stink of vinegar but not for too long.

2. Keep it on for as long as you like but at least a few minutes.

3. Rinse out with hot water and make sure you do this for a while. You want to get rid of all the vinegar. 

4. Dry as you normally would and if you've rinsed well, you'll not smell the vinegar at all. Unless you get caught in the rain or wet the hair but this will fade in a day or two.

And there you go! You'll notice after a while your hair getting more shiny and stronger. Also, it makes drying your hair quicker but I don't really know the science behind that!

Xx

No 'Poo: The Conditioner Only Method. Round 2. Ding Ding!

About this time last year I decided I was going to have to take a break from shampoo because it was causing more trouble than it was worth. So after a long, and sometimes awkward, break up I stopped washing my hair.

At least, in a conventional way.

I've suffered from really bad, flaky dandruff (that I'm certain is some sort of dermatitis) for the majority of my life. It died down for a few years but came back with a vengeance about 2 years ago. The first thing I did was to remove all products with Sodium Laurel Sulfate as it can be an irritant to more sensitive skin and my skin definitely responded well my my scalp didn't. I'm not saying that shampoo is some evil force in the world and must be stopped, I just got bored of trying hundreds or different medicated, anti-dandruff, sensitive skin shampoos and nothing over the years working and making things worse.

I decided I would take drastic measures and remove shampoo entirely and only use a silicon free conditioner to wash with. And you know what, my hair really liked it and for about 8 months my hair normalised. I used to have super oily hair that would be oily the same night I washed it. I always left at least 2 days between washes because over washing isn't the best for your hair. After the first 3 months of super oily hair, I noticed that I'd only have to wash it once or twice a week as it wasn't producing the same volumes of grease and I loved it! My dandruff calmed right down and I felt like I had relatively normal hair for once in my life.

That was, until I decided to use shampoo again for no bloody reason other than the Lush one my sister had smelt nice!

I'm a terrible person and my scalp and hair really let me know that. Everything flared back up again, I effectively sabotaged myself and now I'm back to square one.

So I'm restarting the process and blogging my experiences going back to a no poo hair regime!

Now, I do warn you. If you want to try this you will have to put up with greasy hair for a few months but it's worth it if you're willing to deal with updo's and braids for that time! And it's not for everyone. There are tons of No Poo methods you can try and it's worth looking into if you're interested.

So this is my routine if anyone is wanted to try this out:

The Tools of the Trade

 

It's best to use a cheap, silicone free conditioner as you will be using a shit ton of the stuff every time you want to wash your hair. I use the Tresemme Naturals one and a 900ml bottle cost me something like £3.99 from Savers so it's not breaking the bank!

Another great tool is a boars hair brush. Once you've brushed your hair, go over with this type of brush to help shift all the oils from the top of the head to the bottom. It also helps remove excess product from the hair and promotes shine and growth! Mine is a Kent brush I got from Boots but I cannae find it on their website. As long as it's boars hair, it's great to use!

Step One

Step into the shower/bath and rinse your hair under water and rub with your hands. Don't involve nails as that could damage the skin but just rub as you would if you were using shampoo but with no product. Try to use water as hot as you can stand.

Step Two

How much I use for my long hair

Grab your conditioner. I have long hair so I use about a palms worth of product and really massage it into the hair. You want to make sure the hair is saturated in conditioner and to really work it in. Basically, we are repeating step one but with product.

But don't leave it sitting on your hair like you would've before.

Step Three

Rinse throughoutly. Make sure you get all of the conditioner out your hair!

Step Four

Dry as you normally would, whether that be blow drying or leaving it naturally.

*Warning* Don't be disappointed of you still have greasy hair or it doesn't look right. You will not get results overnight and it can take months for your hair to stop craving shampoo stripping it of oil. Be patient and buy a crate of dry shampoo!

Let me know if you are a No Pooer or if you're interesting in this sort of thing!

Where to Buy
Savers
Boots - Boars Hair Brush (Goody)

xx

Bloggers Block and Off Topic Life Update!

It is inevitable, once I decide to update my blog more often I get bloggers block. I do have a plethora of ideas but I don't have the means or products yet to get them written up. So here I am, all bunged up and nothing to write.

I really should get my arse in gear and sort out my blogging life but today, that isn't going to happen. So the few people who read my blog can have a wee ramble!

But rather than waste a full post, I've taken the oppurtunity to just give a wee update with what is happening in my life and what I have planned for my blog in general. Sometimes it's nice to have it written down and in words rather than floating around in your head. Makes it seem more final.

I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life. After nearly a year out of university and struggling to find a job to help fund my goal of being self employed, I have given up on that road and decided to just jump in and go for it. I realised that if I wanted what I wanted out my life I had to stop being nervous and take the leap into self employment.

So on friday, I have a meeting with the job centre (who will direct me to business gateway) to see what my option are grants wise. I'm really excited about it and thought that I really should at least try while still living with my mum and not having any real financial responsibilities.

So, if all goes well I should start being in a wee bit of money and start building up clients. I'm a wee bit annoyed at myself for not doing it sooner but I have my reasons for having held back.

Blog wise, I have grand plans (as with everything). I want to invest in a better camera so that my photos are better quality and mibbe start recording videos. I find talking just as fun as writing and I think that the visual can be better than the written word on things like tutorials. However, I'd want to have both blog and YouTube channel work in tandem. Because blogging is a fantastic platform for reviews and more in depth discussions about topics that I feel are important.

But really, what do I have planned for my blog? I really want to start doing a series of literary themed makeup. Probably not wearable at all and over the top but it's time I let the creative juices flow. I think it's always been an important thing to me to mash up my loves and interests into one big messy concept and produce something that could, I guess, be called art. As university taught me - nothing exists in a vacuum!

This leads on to an idea that I've been having about talking about twisted beauty. I think there really isn't enough interest paid to the "ugly. Not in a real culturally critical way anyway. And by "ugly", I mean the more controversal sides of beauty: extremely plastic surgery, plastic porn stars etc. To me, these things are so integral to what beauty is and are a products of modern life.

So really, I want to do an essay on the beauty industry's place in the movement towards a weird version of post-humanism... kinda, but not really. That might be a week there my blog gets next to no views but I'm not really bothered.

I also want to do a wee series about makeup brushes and the ones that I feel are essential, what I'd recommend to beginners and what I my favourite brushes.

But sadly, all of those require money that I don't possess right now! So hopefully, you'll see something worth tuning in for there!

Hope you enjoyed my first not makeupy post. A bit unscripted and impromptu but fuck it - nothing in life goes smoothly.

Until next time, au revior!

xx

OCM: The Oil Cleansing Method

Going all natural has been the trend for the past few years and many brands have jumped on this "all natural" band wagon and increasingly I've been seeing a lot of oil cleansers kicking about the place.

Now, while I am always skeptical of anything that claims that's the bee's knees because it's natural (cyanide is all natural too but I doubt it's good for me), oil cleansing is something that I can totally get behind because I've been using grapeseed oil to wash my face for just over 2 years now, so I feel like I can talk and relay the mistakes and triumphs I've had over that period of time regarding the OCM. The whole idea behind oil cleansing is simple; like dissolves like. It's also all about providing the skin with balance. By using the oil, you help your skin readjust itself and repair the skins natural sebum production so you don't get too oily or too dry.

I'll start from the beginning. I've never had majorly horrible skin, I have oily/combo skin that's really prone to blocked pores and I would get massive cystic pimples on my chin while I was due my period. Nothing too bad but nothing great either. My skin is also ridiculously sensitive. Like, I touched it and now it's red kind of sensitive, you know thon way?

I had tried out the Jane Iredale pressed mineral Foundation and loved it. It was a beautiful finish, covered well and just was so easy to apply...

But... it didn't love me and our love affair ended when I broke out in what can only be described as a violent assault on my face. Little pus filled warriors ran rampant on my skin and it hurt. I looked like a diseased tomato.

You may think that sounds over dramatic, and I guess it is. But anyone who has had problems with their skin can tell you how soul destroying it can be sometimes. So I was on the search for something that could help repair the damage I had unwillingly inflicted onto my skin and I came across some old blogposts about oil cleansing.

At first I was just casually interested but I've always loved DIY beauty and thought that if I had nothing to lose then I might as well try. I bought castor oil and tried extra virgin olive oil because it's what I had to hand, then sunflower because the olive oil was too heavy on my skin. But even the lighter sunflower failed me and i wasn't seeing amazing results.

I used all kinds of castor/carrier ratios too with both oils. 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%... anything higher just drier my skin out. Removed a lot of skin but dried me out! 25% seemed to be the best.

I eventually settled on grapeseed oil which has been the best for my skin. And eventually phased out the castor oil as the grapeseed was doing such a good job on its own.

However, recently, I've been noticing my skin getting a bit dodgey when I'm due my period so I've added castor oil into the mix. As you can see, it can take a while to really find whats best for your skin. I was lucky and got it in 3 but don't be afraid to buy wee bottles of things and try stuff out!

Why Oil Cleansing?

As I've mentioned before, oil cleansing uses the like dissolves like principle you learned in high school chemistry. The oil's dissolve the oils and excess sebum from the skin, as well as totally dissolving makeup and sun screen from your face. This helps the skin be able to rebalance itself because using harsh cleansers can strip the skin of oils and then you produce more to compensate and the whole vicious wheel turns again.

Healthy, balanced skin is happy skin!

How to Begin the Process 

 First, pick an oil. Ideally a cold pressed oil. Most cosmetic grade you find in Sallys are and most things from Holland and Barrett are too.

What oil though? This is really up to you. My only word of warning is grapeseed oil can be funny on oily skins. It's not bothered me but it irritates my sister so just be aware of that.

Good oils to try out are:
Jojoba
Grapeseed,
Extra Virgin Olive,
Sunflower,
Sweet Almond

Then you want to buy some castor oil.

What is the role of Castor Oil?

Castor oil is a really viscus oil that is used in OCM to help draw out impurities from the skin. It's not always necessary if your skin is okay with just the carrier oil but it does help.

My guide to ratios is to start low regardless of skin type and work up. They are so many different opinions on how much you should add and this is mine.

What to Put it in?

Anything really, I bought some cute wee coloured glass bottles, but you can use any clean and sterilised bottle you have kicking about.

Now What?

If you strain you can see it! Haha!

You wash! Do it once a day, at night. Take about a grape sized amount of oil and gently rub it all over the face. Do this for as long as you can be bothered as messaging the face is really good for it and it helps dislodge all the shit from your pores. You might notice you have some wee hard bits on your hands that feel like mini exfoliator beads, those are your clogged pores! I love it but don't be too disappointed if you don't feel them. It doesn't mean it's not working.

After massaging it in, get the tap nice and hot and use a muslin/wash cloth to steam your face and gently buff away the dirt and oil from your face. Follow up with whatever you like to use after cleansers.

How Long Between Tries?

This, again, depends on you. The most important thing is know your skin. Study it (I know it's not pleasant but it's needed) and know where you normally break out, current spots and red areas on the face.

Once you know what your skin is like, give it a few days to 2 weeks to really see any real change. I say this because you could see a change, good or bad, within a few days of trying an oil.

Essential Oils 

Once more, depends on you. However, be careful. The only one I personally recommend is tea tree. I don't like essential oils because they attack my nose and my skin is really sensitive to them. But do your research and pick things you think might be beneficial to you.

Beware of anything that is photosensitive or phototoxic like citrus oils. They might smell nice but not so great on the skin.

Anything Else?

Aye, be patient. Your skin isn't going to be clear overnight or even totally using this method. It takes time for you to really see differences but you will probably notice your skin looking fresher and more healthy before the spots disappear.

Also, below I have listed a really great wee website I buy all of my oils and shit from. They always have 4 for 3 deals on popular carrier oils and essential oils and if you spent over £14 you get free delivery so I highly recommend.

Stock up on Supplies
Naissance

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

NV Colour Glitter Pots

AHHHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I love glitter. There, I said it. I, Holly Wednesday Lowe, am a magpie. I shameless gravitate towards anything remotely shiny and I gave into temptation and bought not one... not two... but three NV Colour glitter pots. I couldn't help myself...

But look at them...

Lilac

Prism

Bronze

They are just so beautiful!

Glitter is a simple thing, it looks beautiful and makes you shiny. Some have insane amounts of fallout, others don't and actually stick to your face.. And that one thing alone (barring that you like the colour) is really the only important thing about glitter. 

You will always, always, have some degree of fallout while wearing it, it's the way of the world. It's not like a powder shadow or a cream but loads of tiny wee shiny bits that have a tendency to leave the party a wee bit earlier than planned. Mibbe they had work in the morning?

But I was impressed, yet again, by NV Colour. Not only are the colours I bought stunningly gorgeous but they did a really good job at staying on my oily eyelids. It's also nice to see a chunkier glitter stay so well as they tend to be the ones that abandon ship quite early. I just used a Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in black to make a base and used my fingers to apply it (the best way for me personally as I have quite big, round lids). If you don't want to use fingers, a brush or sponge tip applicator can be used.

It does come with a wee brush hidden in the lid like a James Bond gadget but i didn't find it that effective for packing it on for a glitterati sensation! If you only wanted a dusting then mibbe it would be useful. I don't consider this a negative. Because, realistically, who uses the brushes/sponges they give you?

So lets move onto the glitters, shall we?

Left to Right; Lilac, Prism, Bronze

Lilac is a beautiful lilac (no shit) coloured glitter. It shines so brilliantly in the light and is a nice change from the deeper purple glitters that are more common. I love that it is a softer colour while still having the same punch as a richer toned purple.

Prism is just so pretty. It's a white based glitter with soft pinks and bluey tones shot through it. This glitter makes the nicest "overcoat" to a black or darker eye and just adds something a bit more interesting to the traditional smokey eye that we all know and love.

Bronze. Do I need to say more? This looks like metal on the eyes. It's so vibrant and striking. It really catches the light and then it does you've got yourself a show stopping look!

How I would say to applying any glitters regardless of how strong you are applying it is to do the eyes first. Aye you can put a hanky or shadow guard under your eyes but it's a lot easier just to do the eyes first, clean up and then move on to complexion.

*Fun Tip of the daaaaaay!*
Use some sticky tape to easily lift glitter from your face. But please, mind and take some of the stickiness away first!

Now that we have talked about how well they stay on and seen how beautiful they are, lets talk about removal. I use the Oil Cleansing Method to wash my face so I didn't have any problems removing the glitter. Traditional cleansers do remove these but i would gentle wipe thwm off with a cloth to remove tuem fully.

These bad boys, they have earned their place in my kit and are really affordable at £6 for g. If you wanted some chunkier glitters, definitely check out NV Colour if you haven't already!

Where to Buy
NV Colour 

 

NV Colour Cheeky Stick in Vintage Pink Review

Hi guys! This is the second time I've tried to write this up because I'm phone is a jobbie. A good wee while ago a new brand, NV Colour followed me on twitter. I love new things, I love the excitement and potential of coming across something that's really cool or amazing. So, naturally, I was intrigued by this new brand.

I clicked the link and off I was into NV Colour's website! After looking longingly at their glitters (to which I'll post a review of on Wednesday) and their "Cheeky Sticks" I decided to buy some. Sadly, I don't have infinite amounts of money and couldn't buy all of them so I settled on the colour, Vintage Pink.

Summer in a stick!

I will say thought that the colour doesn't really scream "vintage" to me, more summery candy pink but that doesn't really matter. Cosmetic names rarely make any sense outside of "taupe" and "brown". But I digress, it's a beautiful colour as you can see from the swatch above. I love creamy cheek products for the same reason I favour lipstick. They are multi use. I can use them on cheeks and lips and occasionally the eyes if the product is eye safe. The colour itself is a matte, warm pink so it's really flattering on my medium olive skin because it balances out the stronger green tones in my skin and makes me that lovely summery healthy glow! But in saying that, I think this colour would look great on a lot of different people.

It comes in a really lovely and sleek twisty tube and I love it! I despite bulky packaging. It's not cute, it's clumsy and bothersome and ugh, awful. So when things come in smaller bottles or minimalist packaging I rejoice to the heavens! Not only this by it is user preference friendly. What do you mean, Holly? By that I mean because if the why it is packaged, with a twist up tube and large area, means you can go in will fingers or a brush or stamp it directly onto your face.

But a word of warning: This product is stupidly pigmented so be wary when stamping it on your face. Don't go mental like a deranged post office worker.

The product does have a funny smell in the tube, kinda like face paint but it really isn't detectable at all on the skin or lips so unless you have the smelling powers of a bear you're not going to notice it once it's on your face.

Lastly, with the Cheeky Sticks you are getting great value for money! 5.5g of product for £6 and it's so pigmented that you really wouldn't go through it in a hurry. Unless you really love pink. Like, a lot.

Would I recommend this product? Aye, I would is the short answer! It's a great and easy product to use and I can see myself using it a lot of the spring and summer months.

Where to Buy
NV Colour

Soap and Glory Cheekmate Review

Here we are, back again on the undying love I seem to have for Soap & Glory makeup! Today, in this overdue blogpost, I'm going to talk about Cheekmate, S&G's cheek and lip stain.

Clean and simple packaging. Love it!

I'll start off by saying just how much I love stain products. I love low maintenance products because I'm relatively low maintenance myself. I start out with the best of intentions but unless I need to look my best half way through the day, I don't really bother to panic over reapplying my lip colour. Mibbe they makes me a bad woman, who knows and who cares? I'm certain most of us feel that way.

So stains are naturally something that I gravitate towards especially when it comes to lip products.

S&G have done it again with this wee beauty. It's a gel like formula (not a liquid like the diabolical Benetints) and it blends out like a wee blendy out thing. So because of this it's nor drying at all. Even on my winter beaten lips this feels like nothing on and extremely comfortable.

Beautiful reddy/peach and dewy too!

It's only real downside is it does require a learning curve. It's not a product that's foolproof, you can and will use too much the first time you use it. And you will look like a clown and laugh at your peachy/red cheeks in a mix of horror and awe at how pigmented a small amount is. But once you've learned how much you like to have on your cheeks it is beautiful and genuinely,  at least on my skin, does last the majority of the day.

On the lips it's similar. Because this stain seems to have a slight peachy/red/pink colour to it it's so flattering on the lips and can be worn lightly to give that MLBB feel or vamped up to a lovely reddish colour for that effortless bitten glam.

I would definitely recommend this if you're awayon holiday or for the upcoming spring and summer. It's a gorgeous fresh shade that is going to be flattering on everyone and is longlasting so we don't need to worry about losing that healthy glow as soon as 1 o'clock swings around.

And it's really well priced at £8 for a whopping 11ml. Bargain!

Where to buy
Boots