Old Beauty Favourites

As well as reviewing the new and exciting, I would also like to put to you some of my all time favourite products, whether they be new or old, I have or will be re-purchasing them forever more.

First of all, lets begin with a liquid liner. One of my biggest pet peeves is bloopy blobby liquid eye- liner, and if you struggle to create a sleek cat eye then I understand your suffering....most applicators are too big, or the liquid too gloopey, or simply just too much like hard work, and that smooth line we all covet is just too much of a mission. 
So I propose this solution: no longer will you have to skip the liner due to an early start (such concentration in the morning is painful), no longer do you have to fiddle around with cotton buds as you try and erase the big black splodge on your cheek....enter L'Oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss

This, my friends, is a miracle worker. The sponge tip feathers down to a sharp point, meaning that unlike brush applicators you do not get product dripping all over the place and squelching out upon the first stroke, while the tiny end of the tip means that you can get right into the inner-corner. I like to start in the middle of my upper lid, just above the pupil, and with one confident stroke move across to the outer lid. I then use whatever is left over to start the line in the inner-corner. The consistency of the liquid is smoother than most other formulas I have tried and comes out as a smooth line so no need to try and reshape it with a cotton bud. I really do love this and if you are in need of a new liquid liner I highly recommend you give it a shot, it really does make the process a whole lot easier, and it's not that expensive either which is great. 


Next up is not a product as such, but a tip... Waterproof mascara. I unfortunately am not blessed with wonderfully thick and luscious eyelashes. Even after curling, mascara weighs them downs, leaving them looking somewhat like a thatched roof. Waterproof mascara on the other hand, due to its extra hold, also holds the curl a lot better, and lashes are kept wonderfully curled throughout the entire day. It is a tad more difficult to remove at the end of the day but nothing a dabble of baby oil cant fix.
Baby Oil is also another staple in my bathroom cabinet, as mentioned it takes off stubborn makeup and I also like to use it straight out of the shower before drying off as it soaks in all the moisture.

 Mascaras are always a controversial beauty buy, what works for some does absolutely nothing for others.
Lancome mascaras are wonderful, but the £20 pricetag...not so much, and honestly they are not miraculously out of the drugstore league either. My current favourites are Maxfactor Falsh Lash effect or L'Oreal Telescopic, sometimes both at the same time, promiscuous maybe, but they work well together. The Maxfactor has a big fat round brush which is great for volume, while the Telescopic has a bizarre thin and bendy one, which although at first I didn't trust, is great for length and separation. 

On to some skin care. Over the years, I have really struggled to find what works best for my skin. I have tried cleansers, toners, gels, foams, moousse, from all kinds of drugstore products to the widely acclaimed Clinique. ....With no luck, until recently. Having combination skin I get a very oily T zone, yet very dry cheeks, and I could never get the balance right, most formulas were too drying and made my skin feel tight, or they were far too moisturising and left a residue that did not soak in.

There are two methods that really work for me, the first is box-standard cleanse and moisturize. Garnier have released a new line of products for combination skin developed from Grapeseed:

 Here is pictured their face wash and day moisturizer. They are so gentle, yet refreshing and they smell lovely and clean. The wash is great as you only need the tiniest little pea sized blob, but I especially love the moisturizer, as my skin just gobbles it all up, no leftover residue, but a smooth base, perfect for pre-makeup.
However I am incredible lazy with these kinds of things, and have also found that my skin is too. It seems to like it when I hardly use any product, and as it prefers to just take care of itself. So method number two that seems to work, is just good old facewipes and a splash of water (and moisturizing before bed of course). My current favourite is Nivea as it gets makeup off without much effort and is very moisturizing. Simple wipes are also a good one.

.....a brief snippet of my bathroom&beauty staples,  what are yours?

In terms of body moisturizer I have yet to find anything short of average, any suggestions? :)