the body shop - instablur review.

 Instablur - £14

 

After reading a few reviews, the excitement alone forced me to go out and buy the famous Instablur by The Body Shop. I wasn't expecting amazing results as primers don't normally work too well for me, but as it claimed to be a 5 in 1, I thought I'd try my luck.

With my main skin problems being that I have an incredibly oily t-zone and also enlarged pores around my nose, the girl that was helping me out at the store recommended I try it as it 'acts as a Polyfilla for your skin'...that obviously sold me.

Having used the product for a few weeks now, I love the results that it gives me. It reduces the size of my pores dramatically, and along with my matte moisturiser, I feel as though my face doesn't get as oily throughout the day. It doesn't necessarily make my makeup last any longer, but you can't win 'em all.

Overall, for someone who is trying to combat oily skin, I think I've found a temporary solution.


Have you tried Instablur? What were your intial reactions?

a little less oily, jayj x.

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an empty review - boots botanics face wipes.

I know right...I'm about to write a review on face wipes, but that's how you know they are epic and have completely changed the face wipe game.

Boots Botanics Cleansing Wipes - £3.49

I'm not one that's normally too fussed about what I use to initially wipe my makeup off. I normally just get these 99p ones or whatever is on offer at the time, which is how I came across the Boots Botanics ones (always pay attention to vouchers that come with your receipt!).

The first thing I noticed about them are that they are thicker than standard wipes and they have a lot of moisture in them, but not too much. This balance helps to get most, if not all of your makeup off with just one wipe, saving you on facial wash in the long run. The texture of the wipes also have exfoliating qualities in them, so as well as clean skin, it helps unclog the pores clearing your skin of the impurities.

The best way to get the most out of these wipes is to use them as part of your daily skincare routine, using them to take off your makeup at the end of your day. You can then go on to use a facial wash to get off any excess makeup (if you feel like you need to), and then follow with a toner to restore the balance of your skin.

You need to try them to know what I mean, and trust me, it will be SO worth it.


Have you ever tried them? Are there any other face wipes you would recommend?

no more cleansing problems, jayj x.

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ps beauty - the beauty matchmaker.

I love making new discoveries online that can benefit me in many ways, and this website is most definitely one of those kinds of discoveries.

PS Beauty is a new website so it's not entirely up and running yet, but you are able to see what the website does and sample it for yourself before they launch completely. Long story short, they take your beauty profile and tell you what the best products for you will be.

Perfect right?...my thoughts exactly.

As a fellow beauty junkie, there are so many different skincare and makeup brands and products that I hear of and simply want to try. First things first, it is a struggle on my pockets because I simply cannot afford every product that I want to try. Secondly, what works for someone else may not particularly work for me, so I take the risk of buying a product that may not be right for my skin type. This is where PS Beauty steps in, as they are able to take information about you as well as products you may have previously tried, and give you personalised results as to the products that will work for you. This way, there's no huge risk involved, and you save yourself from buying everything that's available on the market.

I was able to sign up and try for myself, specifically for choosing the right foundation for me, so I took a few screen shots to show you what I mean. (I stupidly forgot to take screen shots as I was doing the beauty profile, but you see my answers in the final shot.) 

 

After I filled in my beauty profile, I was also able to select which foundations I had previously tried and say what I thought of them.

It then takes your answers and generates products specifically for you. You also get more than one answer, so you're not stuck with just one, you have options.

On the right are my answers to my beauty profile. Here you are able to get as much information on the products that were chosen for you, including price, and there is also a direct link to buy the product, saving you time and effort.

I personally cannot wait until the whole site is up and running so I can see what kind of results it will generate for moisturisers, toners, body lotions etc.

What are your thoughts? Will this stop you from sampling everything out there that is available? Do you think the products chosen are actually the right ones for you?

Try for yourself.

my name is jayjay and I'm a beauty junkie..."hi jayjay" x.

an empty review - steamcream.

A beauty post...finally! Apologies, it's been a while.

I know I am probably a bit late to jump on the Steamcream bandwagon, but since I bought it and started using it, I am in complete and utter love. I first heard about Steamcream…maybe a year ago now, and I was intrigued to try it as moisturisers are one of my favourite things to experiment with. You may have seen when I bought it as I featured it in a haul, and since then, I cracked it open and started using it as my daily morning moisturiser. 

First off, for the size of the tin, I think it lasts a pretty long time. The secret is; a little goes a long way. It doesn’t have the thickest consistency and therefore you do not need a lot to cover the whole of your face and your neck. Also because of the consistency, it does not feel like you have a lot of product on your face, so when it comes to applying makeup it doesn’t really feel like an additional ‘layer’. 

I’m not entirely sure of the science of how it is made and everything but I will include information from their website, and you can also do more research for yourself.

"It’s STEAMCREAM’s unique STEAM process that makes our cream much more effective on the skin. The force of the STEAM fuses the ingredients instantly - holding them together in a very gentle and loose emulsion. When it touches your skin, the naturally moisturising ingredients and pure, calming essential oils are released..."

...and so on and so forth.

I only ever use it in the morning as I have a different moisturiser for the night time, but it most definitely serves its purpose as a daytime moisturiser.


Have you ever tried Steamcream? What are your thoughts on it?


I have steam on my face! jayj x.    

accessorize in true blood.

Everybody loves a bit of merchandise, whether it’s for your favourite band, favourite singer, or favourite TV show, a bit of merch is always a good way to show your love and dedication.

True Blood is a popular HBO series about vampires and there has recently been a release of a line of official merchandise that highlight the best moments of the show along with our all-time favourite characters.

Jewellery is my favourite way to accessorize, so when I saw the line of merchandise, I knew exactly what I wanted. Going along the lines of the show, the jewellery is dark and gothic, adding a unique dimension to any outfit.

 True Blood 'L' Necklace - £14.99*

This necklace is one for the Lafayette lovers. Famous for his flawless eye makeup, crooked businesses and personal connections, he is a very memorable character in the show. The necklace is a gold tone, a perfect addition to the rest of your gold jewellery, and with the slim ball chain necklace, it can be worn casually every day.

 True Blood Lilith Necklace - £10*

Acting as a symbol of the influence of the most politically powerful group of vampires, the Authority, this pendant, that features a deep red stone, demands attention. With its toned down gold brushed metal, it can be worn with both gold and silver jewellery but still stand out amongst them all with its unique motif.

 

Be sure to click the links if you want to go straight to the website, and also, here is where you will find the entire line of True Blood merchandise. From t-shirts to shot glasses to the comic issues, every fan need is satisfied.

secretly a vampire myself, jayj x. 

 

 

new glasses.

So I recently received a pair of glasses from an online company called Firmoo, and after wearing them for a short while I have to say I love them!

large frames* - firmoo

For a long time now, I have wanted a pair of big, 'nerd' style glasses, but with my prescription in it so I would still be able to see! After seeing this website, I saw that as well as very reasonable prices, they had such a wide range of different glasses to choose from.

One feature that I loved about the website is the way in which you can search for different frames. As well as gender categories, you can search for particular styles of glasses, sizes, colours and materials. This just makes the process a lot easier, especially if you already know what types of glasses you tend to wear or are looking for. Also, as someone who has only ever bought glasses at a physical store, having a lot of information about the physical appearance of the frames is very helpful.

After ordering them, delivery only took 6 days! Considering they had to put my prescription into the lenses and everything, the speed is a major plus for me.

Although I wear my glasses all the time, I am not too keen on spending too much money on them as I can be quite clumsy with them sometimes, so I needed something simple, sturdy and reliable...perfect.

Firmoo is a company that offers its services for free as they have a first-time buyers program. This allows customers to own their first pair of glasses from Firmoo for free, only paying for the shipping.

I will most definitely be going back on this website as it seems they update their stock quite regularly. Next time...sunglasses maybe?

What's your favourite style of glasses? Where do you get yours from?

a fellow four-eyes, jayj x.

essie - 'first base' base coat.

Another nail related post...apologies!

This has been a long time coming, but I wanted to review this base coat that I bought a little while back as it is the first base coat that I have ever stuck to using.

essie - 'first base' base coat {tk maxx £4.99 sale}

I have never been one to religiously use a base coat every time I paint my nails and that is mostly due to laziness. I did not go out specifically looking for one, but when I came across this essie one at TK Maxx, I had to grab it (I’m such a sucker for sale items!).

Since I have bought it, I have used it every single time before I apply my nail polish so that I could properly analyse the difference between the results. I instantly noticed three awesome things about it: 

it dries ridiculously quickly. – in this way you don’t need to apply your base coat then wait a minute for it to dry. I find that as soon as I’m done with both my hands I can instantly go ahead and start with my nail colour.

it does not leave your nails shiny. – unlike a top coat, it does not leave a glossy finish. As it dries, it appears as if there is nothing on your nails. It does still leave a smooth surface to apply polish on to…so no gloss is a plus.

it is incredibly lightweight. – it is not like a regular clear polish so it is not as thick as one. It is light and it doesn’t affect the amount of layers of polish that is to go on afterwards.

In terms of lasting power, I did not find that it made my nail polish last a whole lot longer (probably because I change my nail polish so frequently), but I did find that my nail polish did not chip as easily along with the help of my top coat.

Mostly because I have bought it now, I will continue to use this base coat as it has now become part of my nail routine…but I’m always on the search for a new and better brand.

Do you use or know of any good base coats? Do you find that it makes a difference or do you think it is a waste of time?

the nail painter, jayj x.

 

september 'she said beauty' box.

As September is nearly coming to a close, I thought now may be the best time to write my review for the She Said Beauty box I received earlier this month. This has to be my favourite box so far. So many products that I could incorporate into my daily routine were in this box, and it just seems like a lot of thought was put into these items.

I find with these beauty boxes it is not always about the brand. Although people like to receive products from brands that they are familiar with because they feel that they can trust the product, I feel as though discovering new brands is best in the beauty world. Well-known brands come out with a range of items and won’t necessarily have a specialty, where other brands have particular products that they are strictly known for, allowing them to have a niche and a USP about them. 

collection primed&ready primer / popchips / amie cooling clay mask / DHC deep cleansing oil / ginvera green tea exfoliating gel / collection fix me up 

Although it is nice to get a nice wide range of products aimed for different purposes, I do like how the idea of this box is strictly aimed at facial skincare.  

collection fix me up (rrp £5.99) – I’ve never tried a fixing spray before, and before I was going to splash out on something like MAC fix+, I thought it would be best to try another brand first, which is why I was so happy when this appeared in this month’s box. For myself, I found that it did not necessarily make my makeup last longer in the day, but what it did do was stop my face from looking cakey. I also found that my face did not get oily throughout the day, which it normally does, so I may have found a miracle cure for that.

collection primed&ready primer (rrp £5.99) – I’m not so into primers, mainly because I’m too lazy to use them or I often forget, but as this came in the box I made a special effort to use it. I don’t think it is too different to other primers, as I thought it was very similar to the ELF one, but it does the job in creating a smooth surface for makeup to go onto after moisturising.  

DHC deep cleansing oil (rrp £3.50) – I already received this product in the August glossybox, but as I did not review it, now is the time. I’m so used to either cleansing lotions or regular wipes, so when first using this I did not know what to expect. I prefer to use it after I have already used facial wipes as I like how it gives you the deepest clean, and the best thing is you don’t need to use too much product. It really gets any leftover makeup or excess oils off your skin, and it leaves your skin feeling soft. 

amie cooling clay mask (rrp £1.50) – before I received this I had never used a facial mask before. I know!...crazy right? I just never thought I had a use for it and I didn’t feel like it would make any huge differences to my skin. Wrong! After a firm mask has set on your skin, it leaves your face feeling unbelievably soft, and it’s not really temporary either. After washing my face a few times, I feel like the use of the clay was still in full effect. 

All in all I think it was an epic box and I only look forward to what ‘She Said Beauty’ has in store for me next. At an affordable price of £9 (+ £2.95 p&p) I think it is fully worth it and in my opinion, it is the best beauty box available at the moment.

Did you receive this box? Did you receive any other beauty box? What are your recommendations?

In a bit, jayj x.