The Tuesday Review: Toni and Guy Salt Spray

Salt spray is something that's a daily essential for me; my hair is ridiculously soft so anything that adds a bit of grit and texture is a winner for me. I am on my second bottle of this stuff now so it's fair to say that it impressed me a lot as it's not often that I repurchase a product because I always want to try new things.

After I've washed my hair, I'll spray my hair with a bit of this product to add a bit of texture right from the start. I always blow dry my hair in order to add volume, so this helps to give it more of an undone look. I then style my hair and add this as one of the finishing stages. If I'm wearing my hair straight, this helps to add a bit more of a piecey (I don't think that's a word but oh well) texture. If I wake up and my hair is a bit wavy because of how I've slept on it, I just add a generous amount of this and then scrunch my hair to emphasise the waves and help them stay all day. If I curl my hair, I will spray this in to help maintain the curls/waves and give them more of a beachy look. Basically, this is perfect however you like to style your hair!

I really like that this product gives your hair a bit of hold as well as texture, so you don't need to go overboard with the hairspray. It does leave your hair slightly crispy, but then beachy hair is like that anyway so it's only doing it's job. I prefer to buy the travel size bottle of this because it's still a decent size at 75ml, so lasts a good 6 months, but means that the product never goes out of date before getting used up. Salt spray is something that I will always buy from the drugstore as there is so many budget options available, and at the moment, this is the one that I'm really enjoying.

Everyone has a holy grail hair product, and for now, this is most definitely mine.

emma x

Nail Polish Loves

A slightly different post for you today as I thought I would share my nail routine with you as recently I have found some amazing new products that have been total game changers for me! Starting with base coat, I have been using the Rimmel Nail Nurse Base Coat for the past few months and have really noticed a difference in the quality of my nails. Prior to using this, I had real problems with my nails peeling, and although this has not eradicated the problem completely, it has really helped to strengthen my nails and lessen the issue.

For my birthday I recevied my first Essie polish. I had always avoided the brand before because I deemed the nail varnishes to be too expensive compared to what I could get from other brands. However, I can now see that they are totally worth the money; the brush is the perfect width, it had barely chipped on my nails after a whole week, and the colour range is insane. I have the shade Sunday Funday and am in love with the coral colour and subtle specks of glitter. I have to say that I am definitely converted, but I will still be saving other colours for my Christmas list as I still can't justify spending £8 on a nail varnish out of the blue.

Another nail varnish collection that I highly rate is the Barry M Gelly Nail Varnishes. These are super shiny, meaning it is not necessary to use a top coat, and they last well without chipping. My only complaint about these is that they take forever to dry, so I generally have to use top coat anyway to make it dry quicker.

And that brings me smoothly on to the final product which is Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat, and I am not kidding when I say that this is quite possibly my favourite make up product ever! I literally just apply a generous coat over my nails and within 2 minutes my nails are fully dry, so much so that you can knock them against a table, do the washing up, whatever you like, and they wont smudge at all! Not only this, but it also leaves your nails extremely glossy and extends the wear time of your nail polish!

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know what you thought of them in the comments.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Simple Protecting Moisture Cream

Recently I've started using a new moisturiser and I figured it would be a good idea to share my opinions on it with you. Let me tell you a little story. Simple is a brand that I used when I first begun dabbling my fingers into skincare when I was about 12: I think I owned a travel size bottle of their rich moisturiser, and one of their face washes. However, as I got a bit older and started reading blogs and watching youtube, I became a lot more interested in other brands that seemed to have more to offer from their products, and so I stopped buying things from Simple. A couple of months ago, I decided that I should start using a moisturiser containing SPF to protect my skin from the sun, so I searched the Boots website. This moisturiser by Simple was one of the only budget friendly options with a decent SPF (in this case factor 30) so I thought I may as well try it, and here we are today.

I was initially a bit apprehensive about using this moisturiser, as for the last couple of years I have only used oil-free formulas, however I can safely say that this has never broken me out, nor has it overwhelmed my skin. It leaves my skin really soft but not at all sticky or oily, leaving a good base for me to apply makeup. Although it contains SPF, it doesn't leave a white cast over my skin either. It claims to moisturise and protect the skin and it does just that. Nothing more nothing less. By keeping things simple, the product can work harder at benefiting the skin as much as possible and giving it a good dose of skin loving ingredients.

I would deem this moisturiser to be suitable for all skin types, and would recommend it to everyone as it's important to protect your skin from the sun even from a young age. I also really like that it comes with a pump; in fact the packaging is excellent consdiering the cheap proce of just £4.99. (I actually bought it on half price so it was even less.)

Have you tried anything from Simple? What are your recommendations?

emma x

Adapting to Change

Last week my life went through a lot of changes, all for the better, but scary all the same, so I thought I would share with you how I have been dealing with all the new experiences. In the space of a week I started college, which involved going to a new school with entirely new people, I started my first job, working on reception at a local social and fitness centre, and I started a new badminton session as I got into the Sussex team so I have to attend team training where the majority of the players are a LOT better than me. Turning up to all of these things for the first time quite frankly terrified me, however I got through it and it made me feel a lot better about myself. For this reason, I really want to stress that if you want to do something, don't be afraid to do it. After a few goes you won't feel nervous anymore and you'll be so glad you did it.

In terms of getting through your first time doing something, I would say that confidence is key. Even if you don't feel confident in what you're doing, pretend that you do. In my first lessons at college I spoke up a lot in class, which was really out of my comfort zone, but it gave off a positive message about me to other people and then they felt able to talk to me, enabling me to quickly make friends. People are much more likely to start a conversation with you if they can see that you engage with others, so even if you don't feel confident talking to other people, put on a brave front and speak to them. After you've spoken to them a few times, you'll be much more confident anyway, so you won't have to pretend anymore.

Another method I use to calm myself is to feel really organised. If I'm going to a new place, I will make list upon list of what to do before I go, both in the hours before, and in the days before. I write all the things I have coming up on my calendar and make sure that my desk is a stress free zone so that I can focus fully on what I am about to do. I also try and keep really busy beforehand. Not so busy that I'm stressed about getting everything done, but busy enough that I don't over think everything.

This was a very different sort of post for me to do, which I suppose fits in with the theme of the post as it involved me stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit. I really hope this helped some of you, especially if you've just started a new school or are taking up new activities. Remember that the most important thing is to enjoy yourself.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara

Mascara and concealer were the first types of makeup that I ever begun wearing, so it's safe to say that I've tried a fair few mascaras in my time. Yet still, the unique brush that this mascara has was new even to me, but I loved it! Why has no brand ever used a brush like this before? The plastic wand has tiny little balls on the end of some of the spokes to help coat all the lashes in mascara by reaching around and between lashes. This helps to give your lashes a hell of a lot of volume and a fair amount of length too.

I have the waterproof version of this mascara; I always use waterproof as you never know when rain or tears may strike. I find that the formula can make lashes clump together a bit if you're not careful so two sparingly applied coats is generally better than one, more heavily applied, coat. Towards the end of the day my lashes do begin to droop a bit but that is the least of my problems as my oily skin plays havoc with my base. The mascara is a bit stubborn to remove, but not so much so that it puts me off it.

Overall I do really like this mascara, though admittedly it is mainly because of the wand, so if another brand brings out something similar, I'll be straight there! I've heard that the normal version performs exactly the same as the waterproof one so to be honest, unless you really hate waterproof mascaras, you may as well get this one for extra protection against the elements.

Have you been trying out a new mascara lately? What did you think?

emma x

Product Empties #2

This post is incredibly overdue, I actually had so many empty bottles that I couldn't even fit them all in one post, so expect another fairly soon! I had a lot of products half started and they all finished at once, which is good for this as it gives me lots to talk about, but replacing and repurchasing them was not so good for my bank balance haha.

I thought I would begin with shower products seeing as I seem to have gone through a lot of it in the last few months, which can only be seen as a good thing because it means I am very clean! First is a Ted Baker Body Wash Mini, which I wasn't overly impressed with. It didn't lather up that well and I wasn't a massive fan of the scent, however a good point was that the scent remained on my skin for a good day after using it. Next are a couple of shower gels from The Body Shop, one is cranberry, and the other is raspberry. I tend to use cranberry in the winter months, and raspberry in the summer. I love these; they lather up amazingly, they smell great, really fresh and fruity, and because The Body Shop always has offers on, they're dead cheap. Last in this section is the Soap and Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter, which is a very moisturising body wash. It lathered up a lot more than I expected it to considering the texture, and smelt really comforting, making it perfect for autumn.

The next section is skincare, and I'll begin with the Clearasil Overnight Lotion, which I believe they don't actually sell anymore, which is a shame because I really liked it. You just apply it over your face and it acts as a moisturiser but it also helps prevent and reduce the size of spots. The Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream isn't really skincare but there was no other makeup so I slipped it into this group. I wasn't a massive fan of this, because although it's the lightest colour, it's very orange toned, and my skin isn't even that pale. It didn't last well on my oily skin but I've now purchased the one aimed at my skin type (Dream Pure) and can confirm that it performs much better. I purchased the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Moisturiser because it's oil free and I do think it works well and doesn't overload the skin, however I wasn't a big fan of the smell. I think it's because I enjoy drinking pink grapefruit squash and for some reason it made me feel a bit sick putting it on my face. However, I don't think other people would have this problem so I would recommend this, and besides, how can you not love the pink packaging! The Boots Skin Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion is a product that I used in the morning; I just quickly swipe a cotton pad of it over my face and then apply my moisturiser. It quickly cleanses my skin and helps to prevent spots. I've tried lots of these from many different brands and they all perform just as well so I tend to just buy whichever one's on the best offer.

This last section is just miscellanous products that were left over. First up is the Garnier Curl and Bounce Hair Mousse. I actually meant to get the volume one but got this one instead, however this did actually give my hair lots of volume when applied before blow drying, and to be honest the two products probably aren't much different anyway. I really like this and would definitly repurchase, but as this was my first mousse, I want to try a few others first to check that there isn't anything that's even better. Next is the Sally Hansen Strengthening Nail Varnish Remover. I really like this because I prefer to use nail varnish removers with acetone in as I find them to be so much more effective, but acetone can make your nails quite weak. Therefore I like this because the added vitamins cancel out the effect as they strengthen your nails, meaning your nails aren't damaged, but your nail varnish is quickly and easily removed. The final product is a Ted Baker Body Souffle Mini which has the same scent as the body wash, so I wasn't overly keen. It does it's job of moisturising the skin, however it wasn't as good as other moisturisers I have tried from brands that focus on bodycare.

And that concludes this empties post. Stay tuned for another one in the near future and I hope you enjoyed reading.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Kiko Nail Varnish

Hey guys! This weeks review is another Kiko product, and this time it's one of their nail polishes. I was really excited to try this and it did not disappoint. The formula is really lovely and creamy, and two thin coats was enough to give an opaque colour. I could have got away with one coat if I applied it more generously, however I always prefer to apply two. The wide brush made for an easy application and it dried in no time. I wouldn't say it was particularly glossy, but I always finish with a coat of Seche Vite top coat anyway. The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was that it only lasted a couple of day without chips, and with other nail polishes I can often last a whole week. Other than that I was really impressed with the formula.

I have the shade 363 which is a lovely deep pink. On the nails it comes out slightly darker than in the bottle, making it more suited to winter than summer. I haven't tried any other shades so I can't comment on whether all the other shades perform in the same way,  but I will definitely be trying more, because at just £2.50 per bottle, I can look past the chipping as I don't mind repainting and going through more bottles.

Have you ever tried a Kiko nail varnish? Let me know in the comments.

emma x

That Time I Walked 100 Miles

I have another photo based post for you today, and this time it's of a much less relaxing trip haha. In July I went with a group of people from my school to Nijmegen, in Holland, to take part in the Walk of the World, which involved walking 100 miles in just 4 days. It was a huge test of mental and physical strength, and was easily the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. However, it was also one of the best, and I hope that these photos can portray to you the amazing atmosphere and incredible vibe throughout the whole walk. Photo credit for most of the photos goes to the lovely Emily who was our team photographer and took all of our photos so that we didn't all hold up the other walkers by stopping to take endless photos.

When we first arrived in Nijmegen, we went to explore the city and who did we find but Donald Duck!

We stayed in the city into the evening to explore the entertainment but we couldn't stay up late because on the walking days we had to get up at 3 in the morning!

The next day, we all went to a cemetery to lay a wreath on behalf of a previous walker in our school team. It was a lovely experience, though it did make us all a little teary eyed.

The next day we went back into the city to explore even more....

The next four days were all pretty much the same thing so it's hard to know when the photos are taken but first things first (I'm the realest), came breakfast at 3, that's right, 3 in the morning! Then we got ready, and set off for the start line at 4.

We then walked, walked and walked some more until about 5 in the afternoon/evening.

At one of our rest stops, we taught some Dutch soldiers how to do the Macarena.

One day, all the walkers were given a free can of beer, making for quite a cool photo with all the empty cans.

As we approached the last 5 miles on the final day, all the walkers were given flowers which made for another cool photo.

And then we finished! I can honestly say it was the proudest moment of my life as never in a million years did I think I could achieve something so massive. The atmosphere the whole way round was insane; all the locals came to watch and brought huge speakers which boomed out great music to keep us motivated. It was incredible to see the amazing amount of spectators and it really helped us to stay determined to finish the walk. We had a final team photo with our medals, celebrated with a scrumptious BBQ, and then the next day we set off back home.

The Tuesday Review: Kiko Glow Touch

For today's review I wanted to talk about the Kiko Glow Touch because it's a limited edition product so I wanted to get a review out before they stop selling it. I have been using this product for a couple of months now so I feel that I've tried and tested it sufficiently to give you guys an honest opinion about it. I have the shade Wave Hibiscus which is a lovely pinky coral that is perfect for summer. I love this shade for both my cheeks and my lips because, on my cheeks, it gives a bright flush of colour that's a bit more interesting than a boring pink shade, but without looking unnatural, and on the lips it also looks great, especially when wearing the blush at the same time.

In terms of wear time and formula, as a blush I only apply a light layer to even out my natural flush, and it wears for about 6 hours, which isn't bad for a cream product on my oily skin. I apply this with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, after applying my foundation with the same brush, so that the colour is not so intense due to the remaining product on the brush. As a lip colour, it is very sheer and feels like a tinted balm. This also gives it the wear of a balm, meaning it only lasts a couple of hours and comes off easily when eating or drinking. However, it is not a hassle to reapply so I don't mind too much, and the formula is really hydrating so it doesn't cause any damage to my lips to be continually applying product.

I would definitely recommend this product, especially if you are new to Kiko makeup and are wondering what product to try first.

emma x