Hello and welcome!

Today I have a skin care routine to share with you. So I'm not going to lie, this post is made up mainly of Lush products, mainly because I'm trying to switch all of my skin care slowly to Lush. But I thought for the moment I would add a skin care routine seeing as I also did a hair care routine.

Face

First of all is the Nivea Creme moisturiser. I've been using this ever since I watched a video by Charles Gross and he was raving about this moisturiser. I needed a new one as it was starting to get colder, and my already dry skin was somehow getting dryer. This is a very thick formula and is great on my skin. It also comes in a little tin so I also have that and keep it in my handbag. I tend to leave a layer of this over my dry spots, usually my nose and forehead, and let it soak in while I'm doing my eye makeup. This is genuinely the best moisturiser I have ever used on my face, and I actually don't think I will convert to a Lush one.

Next is the Skin Therapy Gentle Facial Scrub. This (I believe) is actually Wilkinson's own brand. It costs just 95p and is far better than my old face scrub which was the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Gentle Face Scrub, which is around £4.50. Not a bad price difference... I use this every morning and it works great at cleaning the last bits of dirt off my face (mainly leftover foundation that I've been too lazy to take off) and doesn't irritate my skin. The formula is quite thin and you can feel the tiny beads if you squidge it between your fingers.

I have recently decided that I no longer really want to use face wipes as I find them very harsh on my face, especially around my eye area. So I have been using the Ultrabland cleanser and wiping it over my makeup. It has a very waxy feel, and a little goes a long way!

After I have put the Ultrabland on my makeup, I follow up with the Breath of Fresh Air toner water on a cotton pad to wipe the makeup off. You can follow up the cleanser with warm water, but I feel that it's easier for me to cleanse and tone at the same time.

Finally for my face, I use the Sacred Truth face mask. Only I am horrified because I have recently found out that Lush have stopped making this and I don't know what I'm going to do. Like I said earlier, I have quite dry skin so first of all I used Oatifix as every Lush assistant said that would be the one. Only it somehow made my skin drier and it was horrible. Then I tried Brazened Honey, but it was way too harsh for my skin and made the area around my nose sting very badly. So then I tried The Sacred Truth and it's amazing. And now they're taking it away from me </3 Well, only for a little while, apparently they're reformulating it. I follow this up with a few squirts of toner and it leaves my skin so soft. Now I'm going to have to find another mask. I've recently tried Rosy Cheeks, and it was really good, and left my face smooth, but still second best to Sacred Truth.

Body

First off is the one and only coconut oil. It works for everything, I swear. I like to put it on my face every now and then, but it's also great for eczema and soothing the burning from the itchiness.

Next up is Charity Pot from Lush. This is amazing for my legs after I've shaved them, and leaves them feeling nice and soft. I also use it on my arms too just because. Plus the money goes to charity, so what could be better?

This product is from Soap and Glory and it smells gorgeous. It's the only Soap and Glory item I've ever tried, mainly because I'm so overwhelmed by all the things they have. I like to keep this in my handbag as an emergency to revive my hands, mainly at work. I am a bartender and if the beer spills on my hands it tends to dry them out A LOT. This is handy (geddit?? ;D) to keep in my bag as it's so small, and it does a great job.

Last but not least, is Dream Cream from Lush. I first heard about this on a video by Helen Anderson where she said it was good for tattoos. I recently got a new tattoo for my birthday, and I know that the ingredients in Bepanthen had changed so I wanted to look for something new. I wanted to use this as it's all natural and cruelty free, and the reviews for it were amazing. While it doesn't smell too great, it works wonders, the dryness and peeling of my tattoo only lasted a few days. My skin heals pretty quick after tattooing anyway, but this sped it up to a record time of only a couple of days. It soothed the itchiness, and I have since used it on my eczema and it is amazing. I would recommend this over coconut oil, seriously.

I hope you enjoyed this, and maybe it gave you some ideas for your own skin care routine.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time

Layla x

Hello! Today I have a brighter look than normal, but somehow still smokey. I wanted to experiment with some opposite colours, so I picked orange and blue as I've already done a purple look and a long time ago I did a cranberry look. I'm quite enjoying bold looks, so I decided to pair this with a dark purple lip and slightly darker eyebrows than usual. I hope you enjoy!

Firstly I used Freshly Toasted from the Zoeva Cocoa Blends palette blended into my crease. It looks a bit meh here but I blended it up more afterwards.

Then I added a bit of Beans Are White to deepen my crease and because I find it easier to go in with a black shade when I've applied a slightly lighter dark shade before.

Then i blended both shades upwards, pretty much to my brow.

Then I applied MAC Orange across my lid. I DO NOT endorse MAC as they test on animals, but this is a shade I bought a while ago for a Cosplay before I started going cruelty free. If anyone has a dupe for this colour then it would be appreciated!

I blended out the orange shade with the L'Oreal Sculpt Blush in 102 Nude Beige, blending to two more orange shades along my crease. Then I applied Crave from the Urban Decay Basics Palette and gradually blended it with the orange shade. I had to keep applying both shades and blending until I got the look I wanted.

Then I applied my trusty eyeliner, of course.

Noe before I go into my lower lash line, I just wanna take a moment to talk about Lemon-aid from Benefit. It's amazing for my skin tone. Although it's an eyelid primer, which I do use it for, I also use it under my eyes before applying foundation and concealer.

It brightens my undereye and cancels out the nasty purple/red tone that I have going on (I feel like this photo doesn't do it justice but trust me, it works so well!) Thank you Polly (here is her blog) for introducing this to me!!

After I did my face makeup, I put some kohl just on my waterline. Then I used Kiko Infinity in 277 along my lower lashline. This took a little bit of building up but I eventually got it how I wanted.

Then I added my trusty mascara and lashes.

On my lips I used Makeup Revolution Salvation Liquid Lipstick in Velvet Vamp. (My lips look wonky but that's the natural shape and I'm not confident with overlining my lips with dark colours yet!)

And here is the fnished look! I hope you liked it, I really liked it as I thought it was different and vibrant, but still smokey enough for my liking.

Also my fringe is pushed back because it didn't dry right (even with a hair dryer) and I currently don't own any straighteners!

Thank you for reading and see you next time!

Layla x

I only have one thing to say about this book: I NEED someone else to read it. And then I need them to talk to me about it. It truly gets into your head, confusing you, and eventually leaves you hating Amy Dunne and craving a longer story.

At first, the book took quite a bit to get into to. The story just seemed to drag on a bit about Nick Dunne and how his wife went missing, and Amy's diary entries about how they first met. Blah blah blah. But trust me, if you stick through the first couple of chapters the story line will begin to pick up.I went from not wanting to read it to wanting it to go on forever. I honestly didn't want to finish this book.

It's a classic "who dunnit" style, but between a married couple. No one would think that a loving husband would kill his wife - until they read said wife's diary entries. Nick leaves little hints throughout the book, about lying to the police and picturing his wife lay in their kitchen with her head caved in. This all leads you to think he did it. Didn't he?

By part two of the book I was left utterly gobsmacked. At this point all I wanted to do in my spare time was read the book and figure out the messed up situation that was going on. By part three, I was bitter and angry at how twisted Amy really is. By the end I just wanted to know more about the couple's story. Yes, I know they are fictional, but Flynn writes in such a way that this pair could be a real couple hiding a real secret. I can't wait to read more of Flynn's books if they are written in the same, excellent way.

Overall, I highly recommend this book, to anyone. I feel that the mystery appeals to most, and the curiosity will get to you. But one thing, don't watch the film. It doesn't quite capture the same essence as the book, and completely overlooks how twisted Amy really is, leaving the viewer a bit bewildered. If I had seen the film first, I would have never read the book, it's that bad. Instead, read the book and then please discuss it with me. You'll need to.

Layla x

Hello!

Today is St Patrick's Day and I thought I would share with you the look I created for the parade in Birmingham that I went to on Sunday. I wasn't entirely happy with how the glitter turned out, but I got a lot of compliments so maybe I'm just being picky?

Here is the look that I created :)

First of all, I took both Naked 2 from the Naked Basics Palette and Half Baked from the Naked Palette and ran these through my crease.

Then I took the darker green shade from the W7 Neon Nights Palette (you can use any green you like, obviously, this is just the only green I own). I ran this just under where I'd put the original two shades.

Then to lighten this up a bit, I took the more lime shade from the palette and blended it all over the original green shade, dragging it down slightly.

I took the Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in I have A Green and pretty much filled in my entire lid.

Don't worry if it looks messy because you're gonna blend it out like I did here.

Now for the fun bit! I used my Duo lash adhesive and some green glitter from Wilkinson's, probably not the best idea so I'm definitely not gonna recommend it! I put the glue on a flat brush and spread it across my eyelid, and then placed the glitter on top with the same brush.

As I said before, I wasn't 100% happy with how the glitter turned out, but this was my first time using loose glitter all over my lid. I just think I need more practice blending it. I did clean it up a bit more after taking this photo, but oh well. I tried!

Then I added my usual eyeliner and mascara. I ran a black eyeliner pencil along my waterline, and drew a faint green line just underneath with the I Have A Green pencil.

On my lips I used Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in the shade Mango Crush. I was quite impressed with this, it managed to stay on even with me devouring a chicken bake from Gregg's!

And that is it!

I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day, see you next time.

Layla x