Update | inexpensive skin care for clear skin

Since I started this little blog of mine a few years ago, I have done more than a few different skin care routines. The only problem was that they all seemed to be based around high end products. Which present day self can no longer afford (due to house moving and such!) So I thought I would switch it up and try a few less expensive goodies that were easily accessible and low in price. Surprisingly, I'm pretty over the moon with the wonders this concoction has done to my skin. My cheeks are no longer overly pigmented, I have no break outs and there isn't a dry patch of skin in sight! (Which is shocking as it is -1 here in England and usually my skin would go crazy!) So, let's get onto all my lotions and potions!

Evening -

Once I get home from a long day at work there is no better feeling than taking off all that makeup I've been wearing though out the day! So I start off with a few cotton pads soaked in my Garnier Micellar water and in circling motions, I removed most of my eye and face makeup. I usually end up using three cotton pads, two for each of my eyes and one for my face and neck. (RRP: £3.33)

Moving onto cleanser, in the evening I like to wind down with a cream cleanser that will clean my skin but won't wake me up with a strong scent. I've been loving the No7 Beautiful skin cleansing balm and a muslin cloth to remove any left over makeup, dirt and grime. (RRP: £9.50)

Next is a new step I've added into my routine, toner. I never thought I would be a toner lover due to my dry skin, but oh man was I so wrong. Toners can come in many varieties to suit all sorts of skin types, it's a great way to rebalance your ph levels in your skin and really prep your face ready for moisturising. You may just have to keep your eyes peeled for a dry skin one though, as they seem to be like gold dust. (If you are on the hunt for one, look out for rose oil in the ingredients, this usually is targeted for us dry skin folk) Happily for me I found one in the shape of a Glossybox goodie. The Kueshi pure and clean facial toner. (RRP: £6.00)

A few times a week I like to give my new skin cells some life with a lovely scrub. The one I've been obsessed with is the Body Shop tea tree scrub, it has very tiny vigarating beads which really get in there and remove all of that dead skin. It has a really revitalising scent which helps you to wake up in the morning which is a bonus! (RRP: £6.50)

Moving onto face masks, as we all know I am the number one fan of Montagne Jeunesse, all of their masks are to dye for and at £1.00 each there really isn't anything to complain about! 

Moisturises can be tricky at night, as you want them to be light enough to sink in but heavy enough to actually help your skin out. I've been really enjoying the Garnier moisture match for dry to very dry skin, it really replenishes the moisture in my face and leaves it feeling velvety soft the morning after. (RRP: £3.99)

Treatments -

I like to finish off my routine with a thirst quenching eye cream, which I've been using for around 2 years, it is the Simple radiance brightening eye cream, it makes fine lines disappear and brightens up my eyes by removing the dark circles. If a sudden rouge spot pops up, I love the zap! zap! zap! gets that chap spot treatment by Anatomicals. I can easily get rid of it in 12 hours or less with this duo day and night spot treatment, it's a life saver. (RRP: £3.89) Lastly I top it all off with a moisturising lip balm. I usually use any that I can get my mitts on, but lately I've been drawing more towards the Superfruits naked lips to keep my smackers plumped up. It doesn't have an offensive smell like most others and I can really feel it sink in. (RRP: £3.78)

Morning -

As I am neither an early riser nor a night owl, getting up in the morning is a pain in itself. So I like to keep my getting ready time as short as possible to get optimum lie in time. So I usually wipe my face round with some of my Micellar water to wake me up and moisturise with the Garnier moisture match for normal skin to prep my face ready for makeup. (RRP: £3.99) Because who would chose 10 minutes of skin care over 10 minutes extra in bed? Not me that's for sure!

So as a grand total my skin care routine comes to... 

£42.07!

Not too bad considering it used to be over £100! So it costs you just over £40 to have smooth beautiful looking skin! As you know I'm always on the look out for new goodies to try, so if you have any suggestions please leave them below! 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Post soon,

Love Danielle xoxo

Over night treatment | my skin care secret

Now that the crisp cold weather of autumn is in full swing, I like to mix up my skin care routine by throwing in a deeply, hydrating overnight mask in the mix. I like to do these weekly treatments when I know I have a long stressful day ahead of me in the morning. So once I've completely removed all of the makeup and dirt that is on my skin from that previous day I like to take a good walnut sized dollop of the Boots traditional skin care cream with A&E vitamins, spread it between my finger tips and apply it liberally to my face and the beginning of my neck, concentrating on applying it evenly rather than rubbing it in. 

During the night when your having your beauty sleep, your face will get to work by drinking up all that product and by the time you wake up, you will have glowing healthy looking skin. It will leave you with a thin film of excess product lying on top of your skin but that will come off with your morning cleanse anyway. The great thing about this product is the fact it can be used as a dry skin moisturiser or a night treatment. Now your probably wondering what the price is of my miracle product, but fear not its actually only £3.05 and for a 200ml pot it is cheaper than cheep. I usually go through one tub about once a year so no investment needed, and for that price it really is worth a try if your skin is looking a little dehydrated and it just needs a little pick me up! 

Finish this easy routine with your normal serum and makeup choices and I promise you, you will have bright, glowing skin that will make you look as fresh as a daisy!

I hope you enjoyed my skin care secret!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

Autumn/Winter skin care routine | Night (normal/dry)

After a long tiring day at work, I like to come home and light up a few candles, run my self a nice hot bubble bath, pop my hair up in a bun and try and relax as I do my skin care routine. After an 8 hour day at work, coming home and taking time to remove all my makeup can be a bit of a chore, but I have found the perfect formula that turns this boring old repetitive routine upside down and makes it an enjoyable, relaxing pamper evening, even if it only takes a few minutes. 

I start of by removing the majority of my makeup with the Garnier miceller water with a few Cotten pads, leaving the remover on my closed eyes for a few seconds and then gently wiping it away, circular movements seems to do the trick of getting the bulk removed. I also do the same steps for my face makeup. 

Then I move on to my cleanser, I usually like to splurge on this part to get a high quality high end cleanser. Only I feel this really makes a real difference on how good my skin is, so I have been using the Emma Hardie amazing face cleansing balm just to clean up any makeup I have missed and prep my skin ready for moisturising. 

About once or twice a week I like to treat myself to a face mask, and my absolute favourite is the Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea mud pack (which by the way is only £1 and can be used up to 10 times!) This mask just gets rid of any impurity so have and really gets deep down into my pores and gets all the rubbish out.

Onto moisturising, my number one night time moisturiser is the Sanctuary Spa night concentrate, I usually generously apply this to my face, neck and décolletage to keep my dry spots at bay and to prevent ageing.

As my last step I always finish off with a little bit of Simple eye cream and a smothering of Carmex lip balm all over my lips, got to keep everything moisturised and preventing a dry break out!

Hope you enjoyed my nightly skin care routine for autumn/winter

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

Bath time beauties

Since the colder weather has been slowly creeping up on us, I've been really into really relaxing baths at the dead of night, to wind me down ready for dream land. I have noticed there have been quite a few reoccurring products every time I want to have a wind down bath. So I thought id share them with you!

To prepare my bath I like to put the hot water on full blast and pour in a mix of two products; Radox bath smoothies in Sprit booster and the Soap and Glory calm one calm all bubble bath, I think the mix of these two products just gives a perfect amount of fruity scent of the Radox with balancing fragrance of the soap and glory. It mixes beautifully and gives a perfect amount of bubbles! soap and glory calm one calm all RRP: £9.99/Radox shower smoothie RRP: £3.99 

While I'm drowning my troubles away amongst the bubbles I love using the Soap and Glory Clean on me body wash, as it's a great shaving cream too! RRP: £9.99 I then usually pamper myself by giving myself a nice facial and one of my all time favourites is the Montage Jeunesse face mask in anti stress mud pack, it's got a lovely cologne smell and it really helps to get rid of any under the spots that I get on my skin, RRP: £0.99!!! To take that mask off once it's dried out I like to take my well loved Emma Hardie cleansing balm and give myself a quick face massage! RRP: £35.99.

Once I've finished splashing around, I smother myself in a lovely rich body butter and a great one for the summer time that I've been obsessed with is (again) Soap and glory body butter in Orangasm (rude!) but oh how luxurious this feels! RRP: £10.99. 

And that's about it really, nice simple products that really work well for me and really relaxes me after work!

Hope you enjoyed!

Post soon!

Danielle xoxo

Warmer weather body care

Now that spring is finally in full force it's time to ditch the beanies and pull out the sunnies! A lot of people seem to forget about their body care during the warmer months due to the fact their skin is less dry then it was during winter, but nether the less, skin needs moisture and pampering 24/7, remember that guys and gals!

Although it's a little too warm for balms and creams it's starting to become perfect weather for lotions and moisturizing mists, so I have a few that I adore that arn't sticky and they all easily sink into the skin!

Soap and glory girly go moisture mist buy here!

This beautifully scented mist is a simple way to pamper your skin without walking around like a zombie for half an hour waiting for it to sink in! As the formula is so thin and runny it comes out in a spray bottle and one swipe of the skin and it's completely sunken in! Handy for traveling and on the go!

The body shop raspberry skin care range buy here!

A new range of body product launches are always exciting when it comes to the body shop, but when I smelt the new raspberry scent I was hooked! This range only came out yesterday so it's brand new, smells devine and pretty cheap for great feeling skin! 

Vaseline spray and go in aloe buy here!

If your not a big fan of very smelly body products but still want something caring and gentle on your skin for spring and summer, I really recommend the spray and go range from Vaseline. It has the same concept as the Soap and glory product but with a less powerful scent and is much better for more sensitive skin as it has more of a moosy texture! 

Hope you enjoyed today's post! Make sure you remember your skin care, it needs love too!

Post soon,

Love Danielle xoxo