February...brrr

I'm loving H+M's spring collection - monochromes and florals. I finally picked up a striped shirt (a wardrobe staple), a floral print tee and peplum.Will show how I style them soon.

 

Wearing my favourite camel beanie from H+M, a denim shirt from Monki and vintage clip on earrings.

 

hair update - well the fro is growing and I'm still no way close to knowing what products are best for my hair so I try to keep my routine as simple as possible. I wash/cleanse with dudu osun (black soup), replenish moisture with aussie's miracle moist shampoo + conditioner, aphogee protein and homemade hair oil (coconut, JBCO, olive oil and whipped shea butter). I also use protective styles most of the time now since it's winter in London - my favourites being wigs and cornrows.

skin update - I have dry and eczema prone skin and I was recommended this routine by a friend and I must say it works. So I now scrub my face at night with St Ives apricot body scrub to remove any debris from the day then cleanse/moisturize with Pond's cold cream. I must say my skin is baby soft. I also use pond's in the morning to clean my face instead of shower gel or soap.

Read my lips

Different shades of red have different hues of blue, orange and red and are perfect for certain complexions, but that doesn't mean you can't play around with the shades and chose what you prefer. Before you apply your lipstick:  1. Exfoliate gently with a toothbrush then apply a small amount of clear lip balm (I use vaseline).  2. Find a lip liner that is the closest match to the lipstick colour and apply  it over your entire lips to keep the colour on your lips for longer.

Lighter skin tones

Try a true red lipstick or reddish pinks

 

Medium skin tones

Deep pinks, reds, brown reds.

Dark skin tones

Purple hued or plum red lipstick or a deep red + reds with blue undertones

These are just guidelines but there is no one stopping you from going crazy with colours. I personally think darker skinned girls look amazing with bright lips. MAC's Ruby Woo is a great red for most complexions. 

Product review: Lush foot lotion in peppermint

Go and buy this now! No joke..I know it says foot lotion on the box, but it should be changed to "if I could drink it I would cream". This is the best cream hands down, I have EVER used! First of all it's PINK, it's packed with essential oils and it smells YUMMA because of the peppermint and spearmint and it has fair trade coco butter. It's one of those creams that is moisturising and oiling without being greasy, do you know what I mean? If I had oily skin, I would probably use it. My dry eczema-prone skin eats it all day everyday. Once you apply it to your skin you get this cooling tingling feeling (that rhymes) that feels like you skin is being rejuvenated. Lucky for me it's a popular product so they restock it every season, but my paranoia of cosmetic conspiracies means that I have stocked up 5 tubs so far.  The ingredients in this pot of pink heaven are for soothing tired and restoring exhausted areas i.e. my whole body

Ingredients include coco butter, almond oil, arnica and glycerin.

I love everything about it and I have seen a HUGE (yes I had to make the letter in capitals just to emphasise just how huge) difference in my skin, less spots and a much cleaner and smoother appearance all over.

Get it now xx

Product review : LUSH Oatifix mask

I have dry and sensitive skin ( and eczema) and most mask and skin care products I use must have as little chemicals as possible, especially drying products like alcohol. I tend to go for brands that are as natural as possible but I have never really thought to go to Lush. Over the years I have gone there for gifts and bath bombs, then I had a Eureka moment and wondered why I had never thought of buying my skin essentials from them. So the next day I went to the store on St. Molton Street (near Bond street station, London)

As soon as I got into the store I was welcomed by a sales person and she got right to the point asking me what I was looking for. I was smelling everything there, picking anything that I wanted, but she honestly told me that some of those products wont go well with my my skin type, mind you the basket was £40 at the time, so I knew her heart was in the right place and not about the money. She advised me not to get products that foam up as they are drying but to get cleaners that literally cleanse the skin.

I wanted a mask and they all smelt fantastic and the one specifically for dry sensitive skin was OATIFIX. It smells like banana and vanilla, like a cake..no like cookie dough...YUMMMA!

Ingredients: Glycerine, Fine Oatmeal (Avena sativa), Fresh Organic Bananas (Musa paradisiaca), Water (Aqua), Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Illipe Butter (Shorea stenoptera), Kaolin, Talc, Vanilla Pod (Vanilla planifolia), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum vieill), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax tonkinensis pierre), *Coumarin, *Benzyl Cinnamate, *Linalool, Perfume, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides)

The oats calm the skin, the almonds provide the scrub, the bananas soften the skin and the illipe butter reduces redness. At first try it smells like heaven, the mask is thick like paste consistency and I took a scoop full with my finger and rubbed it on my skin then repeated it till my face was covered. I put like a drop of water on my hands just to loosen it up, then I left it on for 20 mins then took a shower.

1 word = HEAVEN

I wasn't left with that face lift feeling and my skin felt soft and glowed..so what more do you want in a product. I use it once a week and I have had no side effects and the overall change in the appearance of my face has changed, it is less dull.

I recommend giving it a try, but if you are not sure you can pop into any Lush store and request a sample (which is free btw).

Hope this was useful x