Holy Grail Skincare?

Oh, hey there! How are you this fine day? I am feeling a little bit broke! 

It's my birthday on Saturday! Woohooooooo! So I felt like treating myself (yep, it's going to be another one of THOSE posts). Do you remember a few months back when Glamour magazine gave samples of L'Occitane skincare? I was rather baffled by why such an established company would want to give samples of their products in a magazine. Well, I found out when I got all three samples to try out, and fell head over heels in love with them...

Before using the Angelica skincare range from L'Occitane, I used to use the Clinique 3 Step (and boy, did I hate it). It stripped my skin and made it drier than it originally was; I thought my skin was always going to be like that! However, when I used the Agelica skincare range, I was blown away. My skin felt cleansed, fresh, it went back to combination skin because it wasn't being stripped, it felt hydrated and it was just so much better. 

It's always easy for bloggers to profess their love to anything and everything, but the real commitment is shown when you go out and repurchase with your own pennies. And boy, did I spend a lot of pennies!

First, I will tell you about the free gift I received because I purchased 2 L'Occitane products. I got mini samples of the cleanser and toner, a mini foot cream, and a shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair, with a lovely little toiletry bag. I have obviously tried the cleanser and toner before, so I am pretty pleased I got those, because I know they work and they are perfect travel sizes. I am going to be re-dyeing my hair pretty soon, so I look forward to trying out the shampoo and conditioner. And last but not last, I know how much hype L'Occitane foot creams get, so I cannot wait to try this one out. I think that for a free gift, this is above the standard I expected! It kind of makes me feel a bit better about the money I spend in total.

I bought the Angelica Cleansing Gel and the Hydrating Cream. Both of these products worked wonders for my skin, so I knew that I needed them. 

The cleansing gel has water and oils from organic angelica; this is what helps fight the impurities and remove the make up without irritating your skin. It also works to hydrate your skin [which was a great selling point for me] and leaves it feeling radiant and refreshed. 

I was more excited about buying the hydrating cream than anything else...however, I did not realise that it cost nearly £30! I nearly died when I went to the till. As much as it pained me, I still bought it because I had seen the benefits it had for my skin. The woman said that this should last me for about 6 months, which made me feel a bit better. This moisturiser is rich without being too greasy and clogging up your pores [like the Benefit one], it works to moisturise your skin throughout the whole day, smells amazing, and really does make your skin look and feel radiant.

The woman behind the counter clocked onto my shaking hands as I paid and was kind enough to give me a few samples. She gave me 2 samples of the eye roll-on, ex foliating gel and a body cream. I am really looking forward to trying more L'Occitane products.

This all came to £45; which probably won't seem a lot, but when you have no money it is the worst feeling in the world parting with the little money you do have. I highly recommend that you try this line of skincare if you are looking for something new because it really does make a difference. You can try out the starter kit if you don't want to part with too much money.

What are your holy grail skincare products?

Have you tried any products from L'Occitane?

Tips&Tricks #1 Always wash your brushes!

After spending a whole afternoon with some of my friends comparing a whole variety of make-up, skin care, hair advice and realising how some of us had never even heard of the basic ones, I decided to do a little 'Tips & Tricks' segment for my blog. Some of these you will have heard and others will blow your mind!

I am going to start with one that we all know about but most of us don't follow.

ALWAYS WASH YOUR MAKE-UP BRUSHES!

Our poor brushes get thrown around in the make-up bag, get a ton of product on them and are often forgotten about the second we put our make-up on. They are prone to having a build up of bacteria that can get transferred to the rest of your make-up if you use the brush with a multiple of products. It is also a cause of some breakouts if there is a large amount of bacteria in the brushes. It is recommended that you wash them weekly but I wash mine at least twice a week. It takes very little time and effort!

Here is how I wash my Clinique Foundation Brush:

Step 1: Run the brush under water. As you can see, mine has got a slight brown tinge to it.

Step 2: Add a soap, shampoo or anti-bacterial wash on the brush. How much you put on depends on the size of your brush so use your intuition. 

Step 3: Wet the brush again and swirl it in your hand so the anti-bacterial wash can lather up. Swirl the brush in your hand in a circular motion. Wash the brush PROPERLY and repeat if there is any coloured residue left. 

Step 4: Stand back and admire your work! If you look at the first picture and compare it too this then you can see how much cleaner it look.

Step 5: Dry the brush with a towel but do not pull at the bristles! Place your brush on a rolled up towel that has a slight slant to it so that any excess water can be absorbed by the towel. Leave it there over night and it should be dry by the morning. 

How do you wash your make-up brushes?