How Much Is My Face Worth?

I've had this post in draft form for a few weeks now, and I think I was worrying too much about getting the tone right to be able to finish and post it.
Essentially, I didn't want the post to come across as 'look how much I spend on skincare', because I'm not a price snob at all, but I do value good ingredients in skin care.  Sadly, on the whole, good ingredients do tend to cost more, and as a result my combined total isn't exactly 'budget'.
I tend to splash out on skincare more than make up as I think it has to be the priority.
 I think blogging exposes you to so many different products, and enables you to make informed decisions about what to buy too, so although I may have spent quite a bit, I tend to have been really happy with my purchases and don't really flit about or constantly buy new stuff. 

Jeez making excuses already! Well here we go anyway- my basic skincare routine!

Bioderma

 

I wasn't sold on this at all when I first tried it, and quickly left it to gather dust.  I've gone back to it in the last few weeks though, and I totally get all the fuss now; it's so gentle on my eyes and it does do a good job of removing both face and eye make up, without upsetting my skin.

£9.99 (250ml)

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm

 

I won't say too much on this because I'm going to do a proper review on this shortly, but it is amaaaaaaazing, which slightly pains me because it's super expensive! Needs must!

£34 (100ml)

 

Michael Todd Charcoal Detox Gel Cleanser

I refuse to use foaming cleansers (containing SLS) because they make my oilier skin much worse, so this rather alarming looking black gel is absolutely perfect because it's 97% natural and it does it's business without needing to foam. Wonderful.

$24 / £14.87 (210ml)

 

Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion

Again, this isn't cheap, but my pores have a tendency to block and they need a good chemical exfoliant to keep some semblance of order.  I wouldn't use the regular Clinique Clarifying Lotions if it was a choice between that and death  (ok slight exaggeration),as they are full of alcohol and dry the skin out unbelievably.  This one contains no alcohol and the salicylic acid is effective but gentle.

£16.50 (200ml)

 

Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Toner

I think this is a massive bargain; it's a generous size and it's so effective.  I reviewed it here if you fancy a read.

$18 / £11.12 (250ml)

 

Michael Todd Antioxidant Carrot Serum

I mix this in with my foundation and it helps to reduce redness and protect the skin from damage. 

$37 / £22.85 (30ml)

 

Clinique Superdefence Moisturiser

This is totally overpriced...shame on you Clinique...but more shame on me for repurchasing 3 times?!

£38 is absolutely crazy considering it's only real feature is that it has SPF 25.  Poor show.  I seem to have stuck with it because it absorbs well, it doesn't irritate my skin and I have absolutely zero imagination.  I'm planning to switch to REN or Origins if this flipping vat ever runs out.

£38 (50ml)

 

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Lotion Exfoliant

My sister believed me to have finally lost the plot when I bought this back in February, but I maintain that it is one of the best purchases I've made this year!  It isn't cheap (especially when you add £5 for P&P), but it's still going strong 8 months later and it works wonders on my pores overnight. 

£23 (100ml)

Here comes the scary bit!

My grand total is...£170.33

(Eeek! Definitely not letting Adam read this post!!)

That's one expensive face! I'm actually quite surprised it's as much as it is.  I am pretty happy with my routine at the moment though, so I guess it's worth it to some extent!


Have you worked out how much is your face worth? 


Suzy
xx

Autumn Fashion Wish List

Autumn Wish List with French Connection, ZARA, H&M

 

 

I posted my September Beauty Wish List a couple of weeks ago and today I thought I'd show you what I have my beady little eyes on fashion-wise. 

 

 

1)  ASOS Swing Dress In Swan Print

This is so cute, little swans facing each other, aww! I'd wear it loads, probably with a thin belt around the wast, opaque tights and either boots or flats. Plus it's only £25!

 

 

2) ZARA Mini Office City Bag 

The Zara city bag is lovely but it's a bit too much for me; I don't carry ipads or anything else around on a daily basis, so I just don't need so much space. This  mini version is the perfect size and I love the colour - so much more cheerful than the black bag i'm lugging around at the moment. Plus it's £29.99, which I think is really reasonable.

 

 

3) H&M Jersey Dress

I really like how the skirt of this flares out and I think it'd be a handy little dress to be able to chuck on at weekends. It's only £12.99 and again, with ankle boots and tights its handy for winter - I'm so imaginative...!

 

 

4) Miss KG Bali Chelsea Brogue Flat Boots

Every time I go into a shop at the moment I keep gravitating towards chelsea boots; I love that they look so dressy but are practical and warm for winter.  I think these ones are really pretty, but at £70 I'd want leather boots, which these aren't, so unless I can get them in the sale, I'll probably go for similar ones from elsewhere.

 

5)French Connection Spectacular Sparkle Dress

This would be a massive extravagance at £160 but it'd be so perfect for the Christmas period.  I love the shape too, so flattering!

 

 

6) French Connection Glorious Wool Coat

Everyone seems to be going bananas for the pink Zara coat at the moment, but it's just not for me; I prefer a girlier winter coat and I think this one is perfect.  I tend to buy a new winter cost every year, wear it to death and then buy another the next year.  Last year my most worn coat was £10 from George in the sale (also pink!) and although I loved it I reckon I'm due a slightly pricier coat this year & this one is so pretty!

 

What's on your wishlist this autumn?

 

 

Suzy xx

 

You can catch up on my September Beaty Wishlist here :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nails of the Day: Sparkles!

Today we we're going to a wedding fair and then to see a friend and her boyfriend I haven't seen for ages, for food and drinks in Manchester.

Beforehand though I really needed to clean our apartment, with us both being so busy with work and then me being ill last week we've just not had chance to get organised! I have to play with things as I tidy them away and am extremely inefficient, which is a constant frustration for Adam who is like a cleaning whirlwind once he gets going.

During my perusal of things whilst organising my dressing table I rediscovered this nail varnish, which is one of my all time favourites. I wore it pretty much constantly last winter as it's so sparkly and festive. Despite being only half way through cleaning our room I stopped and sat and painted two coats plus top coat onto my nails. Absolutely ridiculous, but I couldn't resist & at least my nails are sorted for tonight now!

The shade is Yellow Topaz from Barry M, and as you can see it has glitter and sequins of varying sizes, in a clear polish. Aaaah I love it. It's still available for £2.99 from Superdrug.

What's your favourite Barry M shade?

Suzy 

Xx

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

Sadly, today I come to you with some disappointing news.  I don't know how to break this, other than; Rimmel's Stay Matte Foundation sucks.  Noone likes a Negative Nancy, but if it stops anyone wasting their money then Nancy I shall be.

I mentioned on my Spending Spree post that I'd bought this and was excited to try it.  I so wanted to love it, and I've given it a fair go this week.  But it's just god-awful.  I hoped it would be wonderful because I love a matte finish, but this is just the driest substance I have ever tried to put on my face.  It's honestly like trying to smear tile grout across your face, well I imagine it is anyway.

As it's so thick you end up using loads of it in comparison to any of Rimmel's other foundations and it's in a squeezy tube, which I think gives you much less control than a pump, although you'd need industrial machinery if you wanted to pump this!

It's so thick that I couldn't use my Real Techniques blending brush to apply it as I usually would, so I had to use my fingers, which gets my back up straight away.  I hate having messy hands, eurgh.
Anyway I persevered and made an attempt to blend it in, but it just isn't really blendable.  It made itself comfy in my pores, sat there and enjoyed the spectacle of me trying to fight back.  It won.

In terms of it's main feature, once applied, I don't feel it stays matte on my t-zone.  I'd say after half an hour my nose starts to become oily, and by the end of the day it wears worse than a regular foundation, leaving patches on my chin and forehead.

I really have nothing positive to say- other than it only costs £5.99, so it wasn't the most costly mistake I've made, but still; annoying.  I love Rimmel as a brand, and they have some brilliant foundations, but sadly this isn't one of them.  Match Perfection and Stay Matte Powder will leave you much more matte by the end of the day.


Have you tried Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation? I'd love to know what you thought of it!

Suzy
xx





 mmy

Wedding Series #4 - Dress Shopping!

I think I might be a bit weird.  Whereas most brides-to-be rush off to try dresses on pretty much straight away I avoided it completely for 9  months.  I hate being faffed with by people - I also hate the hairdresser, doctor, and anything else that requires people to touch me. Ugh.  The idea of having to strip down to my undies, be strapped into a dress and then required to parade around on display is not something that appealed to me.  Don't get me wrong, I love dresses, I've spent hours looking at dresses online, and I can't wait to actually wear the dress, but the process of getting to that point terrified me.


Eventually, with 9 months to go until our wedding (eeek!) the panic set in and I thought I'd better get a grip and at least try some dresses on.  I went at the weekend with my mum and we went to two different bridal shops.  I actually really enjoyed it. It's still a bizarre concept, and I'm still not one for having to stand nakey in public, but the ladies at both shops were absolutely lovely, and they made it a lot of fun.

The first shop was quite a traditional bridal boutique, really plush carpets and beautifully decorated. The dressing room was at the back and was a really big curtained off separate room,with mirrors all around and a podium in the middle - I've always wanted to stand on one of those after all my hours spent watching Say Yes to the Dress! We were given gloves so that our grubby paws (?!) didn't touch the dresses, and we had a nosey through them whilst chatting to the lovely lady about what style I was after.  We picked about 7 out and started trying them on.  I picked a few different styles - a big princessy one, a couple of strapless dresses,an A line and a couple with 'built up' necklines. 

What I loved about this shop - and the second shop too - is that they were completely honest and if a dress didn't suit me or the shape was all wrong, they would say so - at no point did I feel like they were trying to flog me a dress just to make a sale. Princessy was no-go because I was swallowed by dress, and fishtail was just horrendous.

These are a couple of the dresses I have tried on but discounted:

(Romantica, Hayden)

 

 

(Kiss the Frog, Eleanor)



 I always knew I didn't want a strapless dress too, I've got a fairly ample bosom (ha!) and I can't think of anything worse than being too booby on my wedding day, or constantly be pulling up my dress.  I really like lace and I like a sheer panel at the top, like this:

(Justin Alexander)

I loved how I could be completely honest about what I hated about each dress that I tried on, and I think it's really important not to feel you have to be polite.  I made this mistake the first time I ever went shopping and it meant I made no real progress, because I was trying dresses on that I didn't even like just because they were suggested to me by the shop.This time I didn't make that mistake and my mum was equally as brutal.
It turned out that the dress my mum picked out when we first went into the shop was our absolute favourite.  I loved it as soon as I put it on, and all 4 ladies working in the shop came over to look and they got all excited too.  They picked out a gorgeous veil to go with it and I paraded around for a good 15 minutes in it.  Mum was ready with her debit card, but I just felt like I needed to see more dresses; we had another appointment booked that afternoon anyway and my sister and best friend weren't there, so I wasn't ready to commit. I just wish I was more decisive.


Shop 2 was quite different - it was all quite boutiquey, with giant free standing mirrors and feature wallpaper.  The girls were all quite young and we were greeted with sparking wine and given little silk hearts to hang on the dresses I wanted to try, which was fun. I picked out 6 dresses to try, but overall I wasn't as keen on their selection as I'd been in shop 1.  I caused a bit of a commotion because I picked a brand new dress to try on first, and they'd all been really excited to see someone in it.  It was slightly awkward because they were having a special designer weekend and the designer was actually there, watching me try the dress on...!  It was beautiful, but far too princessy and poofy for me, at 5ft 1 I just felt completely swamped.  Everyone loved it,but It  just felt a bit too dress-up for me, especially as i'm only 25 and am always mistaken as being younger than I am. I felt quite bad saying that the dress was too poofy for me with the designer stood there, but honesty is definitely the best policy, and he was lovely.
I only found one dress I really liked in shop 2, and I didn't like it as much as the dress in shop 1, so I doubt i'll go back there. 

So i'm going to go and try a few more dresses on, but I think it'll be pretty much impossible to beat the dress we loved.  Eeek, exciting!


What I've learned so far:

1) Be honest.  Brutally.  You'll risk wasting your appointment trying on dresses you don't  like otherwise.
2) Ask to try with accessories and shoes - the right posture and a beautiful veil just makes it all look 'finished' and it makes it feel so much more real and easy to picture on the day.
3) Make sure you check the prices of the dresses before you try them on - in shop 2 I tried on a gorgeous dress but was then told it was £1600, which was a lot more than I'd be willing to pay. I'm just glad I didn't love it because they would be a tricky one!
4) Don't worry about being nakey -I was told just to keep my tights on in both shops, and the only person that saw me without a dress on was the lady buttoning the dresses up.
5)Wear a strapless bra- I need to take my own advice here.  I've only got a black strapless bra, so I just wore an ivory bra.  It way ok but for next time i'm going to get a white strapless bra so that the straps aren't getting in the way!

I'd love to show the pictures of the dresses I liked but as my fiance reads my blog I will have to keep schtum!

How did you find wedding dress shopping? Did you dread it too?

Suzy
xx