My Current Skin Routine : Getting Ready For The Wedding

First of all, I wanted to highlight that I am no skin expert, and this is what currently is working for me. I'm not suggesting it is the right way, I'm sure there are so many things I need to be doing that I'm not. I simply wanted to show what I am doing at the moment as it appears to be working for me.

Over the next few months, I need to get my skin routine into check as I get married in August. I wanted to put everything down in my blog so I can see how my skin is progressing and to highlight to myself what is missing and where! Also, sorry my photo's seem to be a bit blurry at the moment, I have no idea what is going on with the camera on my iphone!

I'm terrible in the morning when it comes to my skin! This is somewhere I really need to improve when it comes to looking after my skin. 

In the morning I simply wash my face with water in the shower, maybe not the best way to start the day for my skin!! 

I then used Creme de la Mer soft cream and Laura Mercier primer to prep my skin ready for my make up. I have recently be trying the Creme de la Mer Treatment Lotion which you apply before your moisturizer to drive moisture into the skin to improve texture and appearance of skin tone. I actually really noticed a huge difference in my skin, so this is something that is currently on order! 

Twice a week a give my skin a little treat (on a Wednesday and Saturday morning to be precise!) I use my claraionic with Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean to give my skin a deep clean and buff. I've started to really notice my make up gets patchy if I skip / forget to so this. Once I've used my clarasonic, the surface of my skin is so much smoother and I find that my foundation is much more even. 

Then, in the evenings I used Shu Uemura Skin Purifier oil to clean off all of my make up. This stuff really is amazing and takes off even the most stubborn of make up including mascara and eyeliner! It's seriously unreal. I have tried this green one and also their yellow coloured one. Personally, I found that my skin felt a bit tight and dry after using the yellow one, so make sure to talk to the ladies / gents behind the counter to make sure you are getting the right oil for your skin. I was really hesitant to use a face oil at first as I do suffer from oily skin, but I love this stuff. Please check out my other blog on Shu Uemura face oils for more details.

When I climb into bed, I then apply The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream. I decided to use a difference face cream at night because I feel it is a bit of a waste to use my La Mer at night time and also because I actually quite like this body shop night cream.

Once or twice a month, (if I remember) I also use the Liz Earle Face Mask which comes with two face buffers. Unfortunately, when I moved house my face buffers seem to have gone missing :( which is a real shame, but still use this with a damp cloth. 

So it's pretty short and sweet and needs a few tweaks here and there, but it's getting there. At the moment my skin is really

I would be more than welcome to have any of your hints and tips around skincare! Please get on contact either on my email highendmakeupgirl@outlook.com or on Instagram : highendmakeupgirl

DLJ
Xoxo

Christmas Stocking Treats For A Make-Up Lover

With Christmas only a few days away I thought it would be a good idea to reach out to anyone who needs a few Christmas stocking treat ideas. There is still plenty of time to hit the shops and stock up on stocking fillers! 

Here's my list of ideas that I'm sure any make up lover would happily receive on Christmas Day! (Complete with Christmas stocking☺️)

Let's start from the top :

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomada £15

Smashbox Cosmetics Cream Shadow £12

Creme de la Mer face cream £105 + depending on size 

Chanel Perfume around £55 for 50ml

Real Techniques brush set £23.99

Dior Special Christmas nail varnish £21

(Photo to be added when I get home) 

CoverFX illuminating setting powder £28

Real Techniques eye shadow and lipgloss set £25

I tired to cover a large-ish range of budgets from over £100 with the Creme de la Mer to under £15 with Anastasia Beverly Hills and Smashbox cosmetics. 

There is still plenty of time to head out and pick up some treats for your loved ones! 

Wedding hair trial!!!

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me and two of my beautiful bridesmaids. We went to have a little hair trial to get some ideas for the big day 

One of my bridesmaids has really long thick hair, while the other three have short hair. So this was my first hurdle. I wanted my bridesmaids to have a reasonably similar look when it came to their hair styles. I don't want them all the be clones on the day, but I do want a bit of a theme.

So to start the day we decided to tackle my maid of honors incredibly long and thick hair. (I'm so jealous of her hair it's unreal and I'll show you why) 

We started by curling all over. And you ca see how many colours my friend had running through her golden locks. 

Then from curls, the hairdresser made this beauty 

L

Ahhhhh just look at it!!!! Ohhhhmydayyyys it's beautiful. 

As it's a hair trial, we also wanted to see how it would look tied up and out of the way. And here is the finished look. 

Both styles looked so pretty, but my friends hair is so heavy so having it up all day can be uncomfortable. So we decided to stick to having half up half down like in the first photo. We then decided to add a little tint bit of bling ;) 

Imagine the hair down photo with this pin and ta dah! 

One bridesmaid down. 3 more to choose a hair style for. So as I mentioned the other 3 bridesmaid have pretty short hair. So we needed to have something that would suit their short styles but also have just as beautiful an effect 

As you can see this was along the sme lines, it still featured a plait and curls but just ever so slightly different. The plaits here needed to be at the sides as the hair just wasn't long enough to do a plait in the middle. 

When it came to my own hair I decided to have something a little bit different....but that's for another post ;)

DLJ 

Xoxo

Primer : High end vs high street

I have done a blog on primers before, but only focusing on what most people see as 'high end'.

I wanted to do a blog on high end vs high street / drug store as I recently purchased a new primer from The Body Shop. I have to admit, I normally only buy hand creams from The Body Shop, but I had a coupon and was in need of a new primer, so I thought what they heck.

My skin is very sensitive, so I have to be really careful when it comes to putting new products on or I have a massive break out. The Body Shop generally is pretty good stuff and they use mostly natural ingredients. AND they don't test on animals :)

The primer I picked up is called the Skin Primer Moisture It. It is a lightweight primer gel which helps to absorb oil. It comes in a 25 ml tube and is just £12 in the UK. So I thought for that price, you can't go far wrong!

First thoughts : I'm actually quite impressed with this gel. It has a really nice texture and absorbs into the skin fast and doesn't leave you feeling greasy. It doesn't really have a strong smell at all. If anything, (if you really take note to smell it) it smells a little bit like play doe, but like I say, you can really only smell it if you are really trying to smell the product

My make up stays on reasonably well with The Body Shop Primer however it does not last as long as when I used the Laura Mercier primers just hold my make up all day.

The texture is pretty much the same, but there is just obviously something extra in the Laura Mercier that just makes make up hold that bit longer and stay that bit smoother. Price wise the Laura Mercier is £29 but for 50ml. So it's just over double the price, but you do get double the product.

So all in all, I think The Body Shop is a great value primer. I have tried high end primers that I have liked less, so it is a good little buy if you are wanting to give primers a go and not splash out.

But if you need the extra hold, then I really would recommend the Laura Mercier primers. They are a little bit more expensive, but you do get more product and a longer lasting effect.

DLJ
Xoxo