Beauty Changes I've Made in the Last Year

The other day, I realised just how many beauty changes I've made in the last year or so! There are more than what I'm going to mention in this post, but the following are the main ones. I was thinking about writing a post on the changes I've made since blogging, but that post would be ridiculously long! I've probably changed everything about my routine since three and a half years ago.

First of all, I started to use hot cloth cleansers in 2012. I love them. They're so creamy and moisturising, but remove all of your make-up at the same time. The ones above are Superdrug's Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser, Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser, and Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish. I've also just used up the No7 one. My favourites would have to be the Superdrug ones. They're nearly as good as the Liz Earle one, but they're so much cheaper.

I also started wearing primer last year. How did I manage without it?! I couldn't not use it now. It allows my make-up to go on smoothly and last all day. The ones I use are Witch's Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer and Nivea's Express Hydration Primer.

I started using body oils in the Summer of 2012. The ones pictured above are Palmer's Moisturising Body Oil and The Body Shop's Coconut Beautifying Oil. I've used a third of The Body Shop's one, which is good going seeing as you only need to little bit at a time. I really want to try the mango scented one next.

I also think I started using wax to fill in my eyebrows last year. Before that, I always used powder. The wax I use, and have repurchased, is the one from the ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Medium.

I then started to use cream blushes. The ones I use the most are the ones pictured above, and they are the NYX Cream Blushes in Natural and Glow. To apply these, I use the ELF Studio Stipple Brush, which I picked up last month.

I also started to buff my nails. I never realised how many ridges I had until I buffed them. I then couldn't get over how smooth they felt! And my nail polish started to apply much better.

The most recent beauty change I've made is wearing nude eyeliner. The one above is Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude. It covers the redness I have on my waterline and brightens my eyes beautifully.



They're some of the changes I've made in the last year. Others include smudging out the eyeliner on my lower lash line, exfoliating my face with exfoliating gloves, and waxing my top lip ;)

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry

Greenberry is one of the new Gelly shades Barry M has brought out this month. It's so pretty! I don't own many green nail polishes because I think they look weird on me, but this shade is easing me into the colour. It looks minty in the photos above, but in real life, it's more green. It's weird because it's bright and pastel at the same time. The first coat was very streaky (I'm blaming the thin brush), but the second coat evened it out well.

I own 7 of the Gelly nail paints now, and love them all. Do you own any?

Look Beauty Collection and Swatches

 

Top row: Triple Hit Eyeshadow in LA Luxe, Make Me Blush in Pinch, Mattify Me Pressed Powder, Brow Perfect Kit

Middle row: Statement Eyes Eyeshadow in Cami, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Melon, Long Last Liner  Eye Brightener, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Guava, Stay Put Powder

Bottom row: Nail Pops in Beret, Vintage, Dusky, Flamingo and Petticoat, Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp

 

Make Me Blush in Pinch, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Melon, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Guava, Statement Eyes Eyeshadow in Cami, Triple Hit Eyeshadow in LA Luxe, Long Last Liner Eye Brightener

Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp

I've had these photos on my camera for a while, so thought I may as well post them! My Look Beauty collection has come from winning one of their giveaways and indulging in their 50% off sale. Their products are more expensive than other highstreet brands, so don't know if I would regularly pay full price for them. However, they are of great quality! The eyeshadows are creamy and pigmented, and the blushes are so pretty.

Do you own anything from Look Beauty?

Wordless Wednesday

Superdrug and Fragrance Direct Purchases

At the end of January, I placed a couple of orders with Superdrug and Fragrance Direct. Now, let me just say that a lot of the products above are not for me! Some are for my mum and sister.

All of the nail polishes are from Fragrance Direct. From left to right, you have Sally Hansen Yellow Kitty x2 £1.49 each (one for me, one for my sister), Sally Hansen Himalayan Blue £1.49 (mine), Sally Hansen Oxide £1.49 (mine. I love this shade!), Sally Hansen Fairy Teal £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Cherry Cherry £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Gilded Lily £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Purple Pizzaz 99p (mum's), Rimmel Apricot Punch 99p (sister's), Essie Camera £1.99 (mine).

From Superdrug, I bought the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush. I've wanted these colours for a while and they were on offer for £5.99, so thought I may as well. I now have four shades, so will be reviewing and lip swatching soon! The Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude was £3.99 and is for my mum for Mother's Day, like the rest of her products in this post. She used my one a few days before placing this order and really liked it.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Yesterday, I published a nail polish collection post, so if you would like to have a read of that, just click here.

Nail Polish Collection!

 

Barry M: Clear, Indigo, Raspberry, Coral, Pink Flamingo, Strawberry Ice Cream, Berry Ice Cream, Pink Silver Glitter, Aqua Glitter, Amethyst Glitter, Boots Limited Edition, Gelly Blood Orange, Gelly Prickly Pear, Gelly Pomegranate, Gelly Blueberry

 

Essie: Mademoiselle, A Crewed Interest, Lady Like, Bikini So Teeny, Beyond Cosy, Mod Squad, Lights, Bazooka, Camera, Barry M: Gelly Papaya, Gelly Grapefruit

 

ASOS: Blake, Megan, Olivia, Gwen, Lauren, Lily, Maybelline: Hot Salsa, Nude Rose, GOSH: Holographic, Rainbow, Nubar: Nubar 2010

 

Illamasqua: Creator, Deborah Lippmann: Razzle Dazzle, 17: Sweet Kisses x2, Forever, Ruby Dazzle, Pink Grapefruit, Sally Hansen: Yellow Kitty, Himalayan Blue, Oxide, MUA: Frozen Yoghurt, Shade 5, BK (Glow in the dark nail polishes from eBay): Shade 13, Shade 14

 

Models Own: Nude Beige, Champagne, Disco Heaven, Ibiza Mix, Party Pieces, Mystic Mauve, Beth's Blue, Balearic Blue, Luis Lemon, Beach Party, Fluro' Orange, Hedonist, 3 in 1

 

Models Own Nail Art Pens: Black x2, Gold, Silver, White, China Glaze: Snow, For Audrey, Dance Baby, Make Some Noise, Secret Peri-Wink-Le, Flip Flop Fantasy

OPI: No Room For The Blues, Lucky Lucky Lavender, Shorts Story, Elephantisic Pink, Look Beauty: Beret, Vintage, Flamingo, Dusky, Petticoat

I haven't written a nail polish collection post in years! I've been meaning to for the last few months, but I just kept buying more... oops! Recently, I've only been buying shades I don't have anything similar to though, and I'm trying to slow down on the purchasing because I'm running out of room. For a beauty blogger, I don't think my collection is that big. I think it's bigger than the average girl's though! A lot of the nail polishes above have been featured on Affordable Treats before, so if you would like to see a swatch of one, just type it into the search bar. If I haven't swatched it already and you would like me to, just let me know.

I hope you enjoy your evening!

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya

Natural lighting

Flash lighting

Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya* is one of the new shades being released from the 13th February. It's a beautiful bright peach and was opaque in two coats. After using an Essie nail polish brush a couple of days ago though, I've noticed how thin Barry M's brushes are, making the application a little harder. However, it all evens out as it dries.

Will you be buying Papaya or any of the other new shades? I'll definitely be buying Greenberry. Dragon Fruit also looks pretty, but I have far too many similar polishes already.

*PR sample