MORNING ROUTINE: AUTUMN

As the mornings get colder and darker it's becomes even harder to get out of bed. Each year when the colder months arrive, I change my skincare routine to ensure my skin doesn't become dry. I have a dry/dehydrated skin type anyway so I find Winter a constant battle against dry and flaky patches. 

When my alarm goes off the first thing I do is spend about 10 minutes catching up on social media. I then make myself a cup of lemon tea and my breakfast and enjoy both in bed whilst I'm still waking up.

I then begin my skincare routine. I begin by sweeping Garnier Micellar water over my skin to remove any dirt that's gathered on my face overnight.  I then properly cleanse my face using Elemis Rehydrating Rosepetal cleanser. This is a luxurious creamy cleanser that smooths over the skin to gently cleanse and remove any excess dirt. I apply 1-2 pumps of this and quickly massage it in using my fingertips, I then remove any excess using cotton pads. 

Next I use Elemis Rehydrating Ginseng Toner. This is a natural toner and works to gently restore the skins pH without stripping the skin of it's natural goodness. It contains a natural toning agent which helps to protect and restore the skin. I use 2 pumps of this on a cotton pad and smooth over my face. 

Next I apply my moisturiser, at the moment I'm trying a new moisturiser by Garnier, it's a daily rich moisturiser designed for dry to very dry skin. It contains camellia oil which is known for its hydrating properties, it also immediately comforts the skin and soothes any irritation. I apply a small amount of this all over my face & neck and allow it to sink in for a moment. 

Once my skin is prepared for make-up, I go ahead and apply it. I have done a separate post on my make-up routine so you can read that here.

Finally I style my hair, if I'm going to work I have to wear it up which makes life much easier and quicker in the morning! The rest of the time I will usually leave it naturally wavy. 

I'm then ready and prepared to face the day!

GARNIER MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER

This is a product that's been around for a while but is one that I haven't really paid much attention to. I've never been a fan of these all in 1 make-up removers in the past so that's why I've sort of ignored this. The reason I decided to try this was because I was looking for a linalool free eye make-up remover, and came across it at £1 for a 125ml mini format bottle!

If I'm honest I wasn't expecting much as it's very cheap but I was pleasantly surprised and love this product! I applied it on a cotton pad and began to remove my foundation with it, my foundation began to come off instantly by just sweeping it over my face. I found it strange to use an odourless product but it caused no irritation at all. Then came the bigger test - my eye make up. I gently sweeped the cotton pad over my eye and after a few sweeps my eye make up was completely gone, again causing no irritation! 

Once I had removed all make-up my face was left feeling clean and refreshed. It didn't feel dry or tight at all which makes a huge change for my skin. I then went on to cleanse my face as usual, the important thing to remember with micellar water is that it's not enough used on it's own. Although it's a cleansing product it doesn't properly cleanse your skin. 

After a week of using this my skin is looking and feeling much better. The appearance is much clearer and my skin feels much smoother. Best of all, I have experienced NO dry patches what so ever! I think this is due to my cleanser being able to do it's job properly as it's not having to fight through make-up to get to my skin. Using micellar water has definitely made a difference in my routine and I can definitely see this becoming an essential of mine and something that I'll repurchase over and over again!  

Have you tried this? What do you think?

MY EVERYDAY AUTUMN MAKE-UP ROUTINE

With every new season comes a new make-up routine. Throughout the summer I prefer a much lighter and minimalistic look but when it comes to Autumn I'm not afraid to go for a much more intense look. I love brown, taupe and any sort of neutral tone.

I start off with a primer and  at the moment I'm loving Bare Minerals 'Prime time'. It's perfect for my skin type and makes my foundation effortlessly glide over my skin. Next I apply my Bare Minerals bare skin foundation. I'm going to continue to use this for a little while yet purely because it does wonders for the appearance of my skin. But as we get further into Winter I usually prefer something with a heavier coverage. I apply this using buffing movements with my Real Techniques buffing brush. Next I apply a small amount of Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer to my dark circles. I blend this in using the same buffing brush.

I finish off my face by applying a small amount of bronzer just below my cheek bone to give my face some shape. I've been using these No. 17 bronzing pearls for about 2 years now and I'm beginning to think they will never run out - not that I'm complaining!

I then move onto my eyes, I begin with Urban Decays eye shadow primer potion. This is amazing and is an essential for every girls make up bag. For an everyday look I usually stick to very natural tones. Recently I've been loving the Naked Basics 2 palette, it's full of matte colours which provide the perfect natural look. I start off with Skimp all over my lid, I then use Frisk in the crease and on the outer lid. I finally blend Primal into the crease to add some depth to my eyes. I then use a little bit of Undone on my lash lines, I think that an actual eye liner looks too dark on me for everyday, so I prefer a dark brown eye shadow. I then apply Mii's Intensifying lash lover. This is one of the best mascaras I've used, read a full review here.

Next up is my brows. Over the years these have changed dramatically but I must say I'm pretty happy with them at the moment. For a while I just used an eye shadow to fill my brows in but recently I've been much preferring a brow pencil. I use Rimmels Brow Pencil in Hazel. It applies effortlessly and isn't too dark for my eyebrows. It's also perfect for creating a more natural brow or a much more defined brow depending on what you prefer.

And that's it! I used to spend ages doing my make-up in the morning but I've now got it down to a fine art and am super speedy to allow myself extra time in bed!!

BIG DECISIONS & NEW BEGINNINGS

Over the past few weeks I've neglected my blog rather a lot. I didn't plan to do this but as we all know sometimes life just gets in the way. At the beginning of September my boyfriend & I went away, in the run up to this holiday I was exhausted and felt like I had spent the whole Summer in work, including all weekend, every weekend. It began to affect my happiness, my health and most of all my life, I had no social life and definitely didn't have that very important work - life balance. 

As some of you may know I work as a Spa Therapist but earlier this year I discovered that I had an allergy to 3 main preservative ingredients, which was the reason for the severe dermatitis I constantly had on my hands & arms. This put a halt to my career and meant I physically couldn't do it. So since then I've had a huge decision to make, I could have stayed within the Hotel/Spa industry, or make a leap and find a new career for myself. 

I used our holiday as a time to think and make a decision once and for all, I took absolutely everything into consideration and made what I feel like is the best decision I've ever made - to take a leap and find a new career! When we returned from our holiday my mission began, after a short while I was called for an interview which resulted in me getting the job - success!! 

This decision was possibly the hardest I've ever had to make as the Spa industry is where my career dreams lay, but since finding out about my allergy my career plan was thrown out the window and it all went down hill. I'm a firm believer of everything happens for a reason and I do think that this is a blessing in disguise. I'm looking forward to the future and am exited for a new chapter in my life. 

I have lots of posts planned for the next few weeks so thank you for sticking with me! 

Lots of love

OUR RELAXING GETAWAY

At the beginning of September my boyfriend & I went on holiday. We booked it back in March and were looking for a cosy little retreat in a rural location. I searched and searched and came across The Barn at Glanoer on a site called Sykes cottages. 

It's between Llandrindod Wells and Builth Wells in mid Wales, about 2 miles from the rural village of Hundred House. The drive was around 2 hours from where we live and the further we drove the more rural it got. The final road we turned down took us 8 miles down a narrow country lane where we didn't see a soul, never mind another house or sign of civilisation. It was perfect.

Upon our arrival we were greeted by the lovely owners and their dogs. We were shown around the cottage and left to explore. It completely exceeded every expectation we had. The barn is beautifully designed and decorated, and every detail has been thought of. There was a lovely breakfast hamper and fresh flowers on the table, bacon in the fridge and lots of information on things in and around the local area.

The Barn is situated within 8 acres of land, the land was ours to explore and was covered in nature. It was completely silent for miles around and the air felt so fresh. We had no phone signal and the wifi wasn't the best, we loved this though as we completely lost sense of time and the world around us. 

The Barn itself was so comfortable and we instantly felt at home, the bed was the comfiest I have ever slept in and the bath was amazing. The window is what makes The Barn so amazing, it gives it such a light feel and adds to the relaxation. It was perfect to lie in bed with my morning coffee and watch the wildlife. 

We had a wonderfully relaxing week and came back feeling totally refreshed. We had no sense of time of the whole week and felt millions of miles away from the real world. It's a gem of a place and I'm so glad we found it. I would return time & time again and recommend to anybody! 

*Just to clarify, this post isn't sponsored. I genuinely can't fault a thing!*

NAKED BASICS 2: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to buy a new palette from Urban Decay. My first thought was to get the Naked 3 but after seeing it properly I decided against it and went for the Naked basics 2 instead. The main reason I chose this one is because it is all matte shadows and that's definitely what my make-up collection needs.

The palette comes in a slim bronze coloured box with the same labelling as the palette. On the back of the box it shows the shades and how the colours are best used. One of my favourite things about this palette is how sleek and compact it is. It's the perfect size for a make-up bag so is great to travel with. I hate it when products have excess packaging, it becomes bulky and is a waste. 

There is a mirror in the top half of the palette, this makes it even more convenient to travel with as the mirror is big enough to do a full face of make-up in whilst you're on the go. The colours start with lightest on the left, and darkest on the right. 

The colours in this are perfect, they're all very natural and easy to create looks with each other or with colours from other Naked palettes. I would describe the colours as the staple eye shadows and perfect for a beginner just starting to use make-up. There is an even mix of light, medium and dark shades so I think I'll get good  use out of all of them. 

REASONS WHY I LOVE AUTUMN

(Pictures taken from Pinterest)

It feels like we didn't even have a summer, the beginning of September has brought very cold weather and a lot of rain. So cold we have already had the fire and heating on in my house! My thoughts are now turning to the next season, my favourite season. I've always loved Autumn for a number of reasons and it's definitely my favourite time of year (apart from Christmas of course).

 

01. Crisp misty mornings

I love those mornings when outside is misty and the air feels crisp and cool. 

02. Autumn walks

I enjoy walks in Autumn so much more than Summer. As the trees begin to change colour and leaves begin to fall, the countryside becomes a beautiful array of burnt orange and red tones. And I'm still a child at heart and love kicking my way through fallen leaves!

03. Style

I find it so much easier to decide what to wear during Autumn. I love layering clothes, wearing big scarves and coats! There seems to be a lot of mustard yellow and burgundy around this year so I'm even more exited for A/W15 style!

04. Food

Finally, I also find it much easier to think of meals when the weather is colder. I pretty much live off home made soup or cottage pie but you just can't beat either!

What's your favourite part of Autumn?