My Skincare Routine with Dermalogica

So, I'm officially in love with my skincare routine! I've been wanting to switch-up my skincare products for a while. Now I'm in my twenties I want to protect my skin from any damage or wear-and-tear that could age my skin. I've wanted Dermalogica products* for a while but did a lot of research before I committed myself to one skincare system. 

I'm a fan of Chloe Boucher's make-up looks and some time ago she shared her skincare routine using Dermalogica products. After I saw her video I was 100% sold and followed her advice on getting the travel-size set first. 

When you go on the Dermalogica website you can find out what your skin-type is and choose your products accordingly. I have combination skin - prone to getting little dry patches, but with an oily t-zone ... annoying! So I chose the normal/oily skin kit so that I can tackle my oily zones and then in the dry areas, I add an extra layer of my normal Nivea moisturiser (which I find really moisturising on the driest areas but it doesn't leave the skin feeling greasy).

So here are the products I use on a daily basis ...

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

First I use a pea-sized amount of the 'Special Cleansing Gel' and lather it with water all over my face. You only need a small amount for this product to do it's job!

Dermalogica Mutli-Active Toner

I then spritz my face with about 3 pumps of the 'Multi-Active Toner' and gently pat this into my skin.

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub

I don't use the 'Skin Prep Scrub' every single day as I don't feel that my skin needs it (I also love the scrub I have from St Ives).

Dermalogica Active Moist

I then put 3 pea-sized drops of the 'Active Moist' cream gently all over my face and neck before dabbing the 'Total Eye Care' cream delicately around my eyes.

Dermalogica Total Eye Care

I also use the Dermalogica 'Precleanse' sometimes, which is great for when you've used more make-up for a heavier 'night-out' face, and also the 'Soothing Eye Make-Up Remover' for any stubborn smokey-eye make-up and mascara. Both of these products aren't included in the travel set, but are definitely worth purchasing in addition to the skincare system if you're someone who wears make-up everyday or experiments with heavier looks. 

I'd love to hear what other skincare products people are loving!

Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

*This blogpost was not sponsored by Dermalogica or any other brand. I purchased all of the products shown myself. 

Urban Decay Shadow Box

I received the Urban Decay 'Shadow Box' as one of my Christmas presents from Andy's family. I love all things Urban Decay, but at first I was a little apprehensive of some of the brighter, more colourful shades as I don't usually wear such bold eye-shadows. After a couple of weeks of playing with this palette, however, I absolutely adore all of the colours and am surprised at how well they all work together and individually.

Here are my thoughts on the palette in case anyone is considering purchasing it! 

Product:  

At first I was a little bit scared of the brighter colours, but after using them all they compliment each other surprisingly well. This Urban Decay palette is more of what I would call a "going out" palette compared to the Naked collections. I have used it day-to-day though so it can be used whatever the occasion.

The eye-shadows are very pigmented - just as you'd expect from Urban decay. The shades are all metallic and can be lightly swept on, or built-up to make a bolder look.

There is a little mirror in the compact which is always useful, but the biggest downfall for me it that there is no brush. The Naked palettes all come with double-ended applicators, but with this one you'll have to find your own. 

Value for Money: 

This was a Christmas gift so I didn't pay for it. I've looked online though and the palette retails for £27.99. I would definitely pay this myself for any Urban Decay products as I know they are good quality and last a good amount of time.

Packaging:

Edgy and fashionable looking, but it doesn't feel as sturdy as the Naked Palettes which usually are encased in a tin compact. The Shadow Box feels a little cardboardy, but this doesn't put me off the product.

Would I recommend it to a friend: 

Yes! The subtler shades can be used for an everyday face, whilst the brighter colours can make an evening face 'pop'. I would recommend my friend buy this palette, but also recommend they buy some brushes too.

TOP: (R-L) Baked Cowboy, Moonshadow, Freelove, Lost, Mushroom, Flash.
BOTTOM: (R-L) Blackout, Smog, Tornado, Bordello, Indo, Sin,

I hope this review has been helpful! What do you think of the Urban Decay Shadow Box?


Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Polar Watch Review

So I've had my Polar Watch (Heart-Rate Monitor (HRM)) for a little while now and thought I'd give it a short review in case anyone would like to know a bit more about it before buying one themselves.

Being a Blogger and an avid InstaGramer (I believe the correct term is 'IGer'?) I noticed a lot of hype about HRMs and in particular, Polar HRMs. Since I wanted to lose weight, tone up and have more effective workouts, I decided to purchase a pink Polar Watch online and have been using it ever since.

Product:  The watch is a lot less bulky "in real life" than it looks in pictures. It's small, cute, feminine and looks just like a regular digital wrist-watch. If you buy the watch in pink, the colour is almost a raspberry pinky-red which is quite nice. The silver buttons on the side are easily pressed, but I feel could be a little less flimsy (they feel plastic-y and I'd rather a more metal-feel). The display of the watch is clear, bright and very easy to read - there's even a light to read the watch in dark conditions. 

The chest-strap is really comfortable and easily adjusted. If you lose weight there's no need to purchase a new strap, you can just adjust the length - the same can be said if you put on a little weight. The heart-rate monitor clips on and off of the strap so quickly and easily - even a first-timer could figure it out. 

Setting up the watch to your individual specifications (i.e. age, height, weight etc) was super simple when using the instruction booklet, and it took me less than 5 minutes.

Value for Money:  I bought my Polar HRM online for about £59.99 including postage and packaging. I've seen the same watch being sold from £59.99 to £79.99. I think I got my watch at an amazing price, and I would definitely recommend anyone to buy one themselves. It's worth the money!!! I wear my HRM when I go to the gym and when I go for walks, but I know of people wearing them cycling and playing all sorts of sports also. Once you've used your HRM, you won't want to ever exercise without one again. Watching your calories burn, your heart-rate and the length of your workout is so addictive!

Packaging:  The packaging is quite simple. Black, neat box, clear instructions. It's not fancy and the packaging doesn't need to be - the product speaks for itself. 

Would I Recommend it to a Friend:  100% yes!!! Buy one today! You won't regret it! HRMs improve your workout, your motivation and your understanding about your own body.

I hope this review helped even just one person out! I know what it's like deliberating about whether to buy something with your hard-earned money, but maybe this blogpost might have helped you make up your mind!

If you love your Polar watch or have another kind of HRM - let me know what you think of yours! Do you love yours? Or would you rather have bought a different one?


Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Product Review - L'Oreal Studio Line 'Hot & Smooth'

I'm always trying out new hair and beauty products. Whenever I spot a new 'Heat Protector Spray' for hair, I usually find myself with an overwhelming urge to try it out. I'm forever searching for the best products around. So when I spotted this new L'Oreal Paris Studio Line 'Hot & Smooth' Spray, I just had to have it. Here are my thoughts on the product after using it for just over a week.

Product:  The spray comes out in a even and fine mist - I like this as some heat-sprays I have used in the past come out erratically and far too much at one time. The smell is what you would expect - nothing special, just average. It's not amazing smelling, but not horrible either. It smells a little fruity, with a hint of chemical smell. On the bottle it states that it leaves your hair '3-days straight' - which it does! I attempted this during my testing, and whilst I needed to use dry shampoo on my roots on the third day, my hair was lovely and straight with no kinks. The spray also protects your hair against styling products to the maximum heat of 230 degrees (but this can be expected from most heat-protecting sprays).

Value for Money:  I spotted this product on offer at Tesco's with an introductory offer of 2 for £4. I thought this was good value for money and I bought two. I'm not sure how much this product will cost after the introductory offers end.

Packaging:  I like the pink bottle, but there is nothing particularly special about the packaging of this product. The bottle is filled to the top with the spray which I also like - you're not paying for a half-empty bottle. 

Would I Recommend it to a Friend:  Yes. Especially with the good introductory offers and the fact that the spray not only protects your hair, but also keeps it styled for a good length of time.

I hope this review has helped some of you! If you know of any great heat protecting styling products - let me know in the comment section!

Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

My Favourite Photo-Editing Apps

Making your photos look pretty for Blogposts, Instagram or Facebook is something we all like to do. Quite a few people have contacted me to ask what Photo-Editing Apps I use on the pictures that I upload, so I've decided to compile a list / review of my Top 5 apps that I regularly use!

Afterlight

 

I use Afterlight for all of the photos that I upload. It has LOADS of filters, photo-adjusting features and frames. I definitely recommend this as a staple App for all Bloggers and Instagramers!

Facetune

This App is great for when you have the odd pimple. You can remove blemishes, smooth out wrinkles (not something I've had to do yet, thank god!), and my favourite feature, 'detail', let's you highlight certain aspects of a photo. I like to use the 'detail' feature to make my eyelashes and eye make-up "pop" in my pictures. This app also has really good light-adjusting tools, and also lots of cool filters. The filters intensity can also be adjusted which is something a lot of the apps out there don't do. This is another staple app I would 100% recommend!


Diptic

I love Diptic to create collages, and this app allows you to add lots of pictures into one collage. You can change the aspect of your collage with this app which other collage apps won't allow. This means you can have a square, rectangle, portrait, or horizontal collage - perfect for alternating between instagram and printing your pretty pictures off in real life.


InstaCollage

InstaCollage is great for cute frames and adding cool text to your photos. I regularly use the frames for when I'm adding cheesy pictures of my loves (the dogs) and I use the text feature for all my main Blogpost pictures. There is a large variety of fonts and colours which I really like.


Pixlromatic

Lastly, Pixlromatic isn't an app I really use for my instagram or blog pictures, but I sometimes use it when making wallpapers for my iPhone. It has loads of filters, effects and frames which makes it really fun to play with. Hitting the "random" button in the top-right corner mixes up all the different features and gives you unique combinations you may not have tried out yourself. 



So there you have my Top 5 Photo-Editing Apps! I may post about the others that I have on my iPhone at a later date, but I hope I've helped some of you out with this post!

Do you use any cool iPhone photo-editing or other kinds of apps? Comment below as I always love to hear about new ones!

Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Maybelline 'Baby Lips' Review

My Sister bought me a 'Baby Lips' Lip Balm in 'Pink Punch' by Maybelline, New York as one of my Christmas Stocking fillers. I only opened the lip product this week and I thought I'd share my feelings about it.

Product:  The lip balm is really moisturising on the lips and leaves them feeling baby soft. The 'Pink Punch' only has a tiny hint of colour so you can either wear it alone or on-top-of / underneath another lip colour. The packaging states that it moisturises the lips for 8 hours which I'm not so sure about if you're doing lots of talking, drinking or eating.

Value for Money:  I didn't buy my 'Baby Lips' balm, but I've found them from between £2.49-£3.01. I think this is a very reasonable price. It is a cheap enough to be a staple item in any girl's handbag, young or mature.

Packaging:  I'm a sucker for colourful, cute and especially pink packaging. The lip balm itself is really pretty and I think it's a great addition to my make-up bag. Definitely something you wouldn't mind people seeing. 

Would I Recommend it to a Friend:  Yes. Good value for money, pretty colours available, moisturising, and on-trend. I would definitely recommend this product to a friend.

Have you tried this new product? What did you think? Do you agree with my review? Comment below :)

Love & Baby Lips Kisses,

Vicki xoxo