I need a routine!

I have never had a skin care routine.. well I have but it has never lasted longer than a few weeks. I buy products, use them for a couple of weeks and then stop. I suppose it's because before bed, I'm too tired and can not be bothered and I'm also too tired in the morning! I only use products when I can be bothered like using a facial wash in the shower, and occasionally applying a moisturiser.

I'm going to start a skincare routine and stick to it for a good few weeks and then follow it from there. I normally don't use anything in the morning because I think using the products twice a day will strip my skin from it's natural oils etc.. but it must be ok if most people do it and most products recommend it for best results (I think they say this so you use them up quicker and buy more :P)

I'm going to use the simplest skincare routine products for this 'experiment' and what better brand than the one and only Simple.

I love their brand name, packaging, products.. everything about them!

I'll be using the cleanser, toner and light moisturiser. I am also going to buy the facial wash so I am not mixing and matching from different brands.

Now obviously what products I use will affect the results dramatically and I shall be reviewing them but the main point of this is to see whether having a routine can give me a better complexion. Giving my skin regular cleansing and moisture should improve the condition.

I'm not brave enough to show a photo of my au natural skin so you'll have to trust my judgement. My T-zone is rather oily and my cheeks are 'perfect' (Not dry, oily, no pores and no blemishes). Because of my oily T-zone, this leads to breakouts and also, there are large pores/a few blackheads all over my nose.

Hopefully the products and a routine will help give me a better complexion.

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Beads!

I've always been an artsy person and recently I have really been wanting to make my own bracelets. A few weeks back, I ordered a bunch of beads from this Ebayer. All beads sell for around 64p, a bit higher if you've been in competition with another bidder! Posting and packaging is free. All beads have a sterling silver core (925 printed on the side) and are similar to Pandora, Troll etc. beads.

I had to get a few frog beads! Their adorable. Quantity: 1

Quantity: 1

Quantity: 1

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Quantity: 5

Many more designs!

I just have to wait for the sterling silver bracelet (Pandora style chain) to come through from another Ebayer and then I can start making!

When I have a few pounds spare, I'm going to purchase more chains and beads so I can make unique gifts for friends :)

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Elite Cosmetics

A few months ago I was sent some products by Superdrug as a thank you for helping promote one of their competitions. Now that I have some good quality photos of the products, I can review them :)

First of all, I have never seen this brand in Superdrug or in fact any other store. There also isn't a site for these cosmetics and hardly any links on them so most people haven't heard of this brand before. The only place I know where you can purchase them is at Superdrug.com.

I like the packaging of these products; simple yet sleek using square shaped packaging.

Eye Shadow Quartet VIP Colors 5, Blush Secret Cheeks No3 Epice, Repulp! Gloss 02 Glam Nude and Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Black. I was also sent a foundation but it was far too dark for my skin tone so I gave it away (I'm talking about it being as dark as a bronzer on my skin!)

Here are the swatches: Eye Pencil, Eye Shadows, Blush and Gloss. The Eye Pencil and Gloss were 'swiped' once and this shows you how pigmented they are.

Lets start with the eye shadow palette: Gorgeous everyday colours, very soft and well pigmented.

Blush: This is the perfect everyday blush colour - The slightly flushed effect. This product is extremely soft and I've noticed that it produces no powdery mess when swirling your brush around in it which is rare to find in a powder based product. The pigmentation is reasonable; you can apply quite a bit without looking like a clown. Not as pigmented as some blushes but I like blushes that are not highly pigmented as this means I can build the colour up.

Gloss: Very pigmented indeed and again, the perfect everyday lip colour. When using this I rarely put a lipstick underneath as this has enough pigmentation on its own. As for the plumping effect, I haven't notice any difference in the 'plumpness' of my lips when this is on but the shine of the gloss helps them to appear fuller. This has a brush applicator which I like but this does not have long staying power.

Eye Liner: This is a very good eye liner, as you can see from the swatch above, with one swipe gives an immense amount of pigmentation. Long lasting?

This is what the swatches look like after using a tissue and repeatedly wiping with a lot of force (my arm hurt after). I haven't gone over it softly so the product stays and I can prove my point because I wasn't even going to take a photo after I wiped them off. It was only after trying to get the product off that I thought I'd take a picture to show you how well the eye liner stays put. That's with only one line of product as well!

This is a good brand and I hope they add more to their collection and sell the products in store!

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Cacti

I love plants, especially Cacti. The top left and top right have bloomed before and the bottom left is currently blooming! I love how a 'non pretty' plant can produce flowers so beautiful.

The Cacti are from my local florist for 99p and the ceramic pots and dishes are from Wilkinsons for around 20-30p each.

I've had these plants for about 2 years now and I water them once a week or once a fortnight.

I did a post on these last year and I thought I'd do a little update :)

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Collection 2000 Glam Crystals

Again, I have already done a post on these here but they deserve good quality photo's so you can see their full potential :D

Top to bottom: Shake it up!, Pow!, Le freak, Spandex and Funk

& the swatches. Aren't they pretty?!

These are just £2.99, have great pigmentation and last all day. I highly recommend these :)

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Avon Arabian Glow Clearly Shadowed Eye Pencils

Last month I reviewed these here but the pictures were not very good as they were taken on my phone camera. My camera is working again so I thought I'd show you some decent pictures :)

Top to bottom: Vivacious Turquoise, Plush Purple and Burnished Bronze.

& here are the swatches. You can see that Vivacious Turquoise is slightly more pigmented and vibrant than the other two.

I wear these literally every day; mostly the blue (this has now become my everyday 'black'), purple for a more subtle look and bronze for an 'au natural' look. I wish they did a green! When I have the spare money I want to purchase Barry M's Aqua Green Intense Eyeliner Pen

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Sleek Original i-Divine Palette

I know you've all seen this product a million times before (slightly exaggerated :P) but I love it so I wanted to show you it too!

Gorgeous range of colours. I've just realised, in the mirror of this palette is a nice view of my cleavage, I'm ever so sorry.

Anddd the swatches.

These are my favourite eye shadows I've ever tried; very pigmented, soft and extremely cheap at just £4.99 ( That's around 41/42p per eye shadow ;) )

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