Phyto 7 Hydrating Day Cream for your hair

So as you guys already know my locks have been really dry and damaged recently after all it has been through, but after going out to get some products to sort out my mob it's been in much better condition. One of those products was this one, the Phyto 7 Hydrating Day Cream with 7 plants.

When I got home and I opened the box I was a bit disappointed at how tiny the tube was, but after trying it out I realised you really don't need a lot of this product. A little goes a hell of a long way. I use this stuff every time I've washed my hair when it's about 80% dry and also on some days when my hair is extremely dry/fluffy. It really helps with hydrating your hair and keeping frizz/fluff at bay.

I've noticed that my hair doesn't feel like straw anymore and that it's starting to feel like its old self again (hurray!). Sometimes I mix this cream in with my hair oil and put both of them on for a little double action.

I must say I haven't tried a ton of products by Phyto yet, but so far what I've tried has always been good.

Have you tried any of there stuff yet? How did you get on with it? Let me know!


Love, Alissia xx

Get Your Legs Out

It's finally getting a little bit warmer and I think in not too long we'll be able to get those milk bottles (aka legs) out of our long pants and into some shorts or skirts. But in order not to glow in the dark, there is some preperation needed before we get those legs out.

First off, scrub away! I like to use those scrubbing gloves in the shower with a body scrub and just spend some time rubbing that onto my skin and getting all the dead skin off. I use the Rituals Dragon Mud Volcanic Body Scrub at the moment. I'm not really too fussed about body scrubs, I just grab whatever one I have lying around. While I'm at it I also like to scrub my feet to get them sandal ready. For this I use the Rituals Yogi Secret Sensational Detox Foot Scrub, I don't think it's necessary to use a different scrub for your feet, but we had this lying around so I tried it out and it's really good at getting rid of the dead skin and it's also pretty moisturising.

Next up, moisturise! For this I absolutely love the Soap and Glory Daily Smooth Body Butter, it smells gorgeous, it's nice and thick and it does the job! I use this all over my body except for my thighs, for them I have another special bugger, the Liz Earle Energising Hip and Thigh Gel. I got this for free once with one of my orders, so I'm just using it up. It's supposed to tone, firm and soften your hips and thighs, I'm not really too sure about the toning and firming part, but it smells nice and leaves my skin soft, so that's good enough for me.

Last step, brrrooonze! So to get my lims a little more presentable, I recently bought the Dove Summer Glow Gradual Tanner for Normal to Dark Skin, I just used this for the first time today so I can't really report back on it yet. Let's hope I'm not left looking like an oompa lumpa. The one thing I can say is that is smelled gorgeous, a bit fruity and nothing like fake tan. I'll let you know in a while how it went with this one.

And that is it, all ready to pull out some shorts/skirts. Let's hope the weather permits us to do so!
Do you guys do anything else or different than I do, let me know!
Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Love, Alissia xx

Everyday Makeup Brushes

When it comes to everyday makeup I stick with less is more or rather less makeup is more time in bed. I do however still apply everything with brushes instead of with fingers, as I do prefer the finish it gives and some things are just hard applying with fingers - think bronzer/eyeliner.

For my base I use either the Real Techniques Buffing Brush or the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. I prefer the stippling brush for a light coverage foundation or a tinted moisturiser, as it really applies a very sheer layer. For powder foundations I prefer the buffing brush, to really buff the powder in to the skin and give it a seemless finish. Both these brushes are equally good, I've washed them a zillion times and not one hair has shed and there extremely soft and not too bad for the bank.

To blend out concealer I switch up brushes, but at the moment I'm loving the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush to do the job.

Somedays when I'm using a light foundation I like to finish off my base by powdering, for that I use the Real Techniques Powder Brush, it is a bit huge, so for dry to normal skinned gals I wouldn't recommend this one, but for us oily sisters it's great, as it covers a lot of skin in minimal time - we have to keep those minutes in bed to the maximum, remember!

If I feel like adding a little colour to my face, I'll use the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply some bronzer.

On the rare occasion that I feel like faffing around with gel eyeliner in the mornings I use the Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Liner Brush. I just dot little points between my lashes and blend it out with a cotton bud. Does the job for me.

I'd highly recommend each and every one of these brushes, as I do think they are really great, especially the Real Techniques ones as they are a bit more budget friendly!

Which brushes do you use on a daily basis?


Love, Alissia xx

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate

A couple of weeks ago it was my birthday, and with my birthday pennies I went out and bought some REN skincare bits I'd been eyeing for quite some time. One of them was this REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate. Its main ingredients are Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Tartaric Acid and Citric Acid. Acids are great for problem skin, as they constantly lightly exfoliate the skin and here by prevent breakouts, acids are also great to unplug those underskin bumps. 

The results REN promises by using this concentrate are a more radiant, even toned and smooth skin, a reduction in the appearence of the pores and fine lines, but also an improvement in moisture retention and just a general improvement in the efficacy of you skincare routine. 

Now I've been using this concentrate at night time only for about 3 weeks and I can already tell my skin is much smoother and softer, some old acne scars are starting to fade and I seem to have less blackheads. Also it seems to bring out those stubborn under the skin blemishes, which does result in real breakouts, but at least it's getting everything out. 

As I already mentioned I only use this product at night time, because it's not good to use in the mornings as your skin might get burned easilier by the sun and their is a higher risk of sun dammage, so do always use an SPF when using products with acids in them. Even on cloudy days! So after I've cleansed and toned in the evenings I put on the concentrate, wait a bit to let it soak in, then apply a serum and a moisturiser. 

I know REN skincare isn't the cheapest, but I'm a strong believer in a good skincare regime. Why spend your money on loads of makeup to cover up your face, when you can spend it on a good skincare regime and overtime not need makeup anymore because your skin looks that nice. 

Have any of you tried this product or do you want to try it? 

Love, Alissia xx

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual

One of the other things I love aside from beauty are pretty books, so when I saw a pretty book about beauty I was sold completely. Not only is this Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual a real beaut, it is also very informative.

Especially if you're just getting into beauty and want to learn more about beauty tools, skincare, makeup application... than this is the book for you. But also professionals can benefit from reading this book as there is a section on what to have in your pro-kit, a section on advanced makeup application...

The Makeup manual is filled with gorgeous pictures and step by step guides. Aside from that there is also a lot of text, which is very precise and informative. You could have read this book 4 times and even on the 5th time you'll still learn something new. In my opinion, this is a great gift for a beauty lover and the perfect read on a sunday afternoon in the sofa.

Have any of you ready this Bobbi Brown book or any others? Let me know!

Love, Alissia xx

To Repurchase or Not To Repurchase: Skincare Edit

So as you see I've been saving my empty products over the last couple of months and I've collected quite a bit of stuff. 

First of I finished two gel cleanser. The first one if the MD Formulations Facial Cleansing Gel for Oily/Very Oily skin, I used this during the summer mostly for keeping my oil at bay. One thing I should say is that it contains chemical exfoliants, so while using this cleanser you must really protect your skin from the sun with a high SPF. Overall I was pretty content with this cleanser, it did the job, nothing more, nothing less. I won't be repurchasing this though, as I'd like to try some new cleansers that may have better effects on my skin. 

The second cleanser is a part of the 3 step skincare routine by Clinque, it is the Clinique Liquid Facial Soap, as with the previous cleanser, it worked fine, but I didn't really feel it did anything out of this world for my skin. So this one too, I won't be repurchasing. 

I also finished a couple of REN bits: a sample size of the REN Micro Polish Cleanser. I really really liked this cleanser, I used it more as a scrub before I would put on any face masks, just to get off the dead skin layer so the masks could work better into my skin. I'll surely be buying this at some point, maybe when I've received a bit of 'bday money'. The second REN product, I've already reviewed in depth on here, so you can go see how I felt about it. 

Thirdly I used the last bits of two moisturisers. The Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream, is my night time moisturiser of choice during the winter. I really love this stuff, it's very thick and smells gorgous, but my oily skin can handle it during the cold winter months. I already have a second pot of this stuff, love it! The other moisturiser I finished is the Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser for Normal to Comination skin. I wasn't too big of a fan of this one, I found it felt quite greasy on my skin and it just didn't sink in very well. Won't be spluring on that one any time soon. 

Lastly I finished another bottle of Bioderma Crealine H2O, I've also reviewed this thoroughly on here before, but as you propably would have guessed, I'm already using my backup of this. 

Have you tried any of these products? Did you love or hate them? 

Love, Alissia xx

20th Birthday FOTN

Tonight I'm turning 20, whaaat! So to celebrate, I'm going out with all of my girlfriends to have sushi and then were going out partying. I'd thought I'd show you the makeup I chose for my birthday shenanigans.

Face

Mixture of Chanel Perfection Lumiere in B40 with Chanel Matte Lumiere in B20

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 3

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Benefit Sunbeam Highlighter

Eyes

Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze

Too Faced Natural Eye, Honey Pot - all over lid, tearduct area & under whole eye

Too Faced Natural Eye, Cocoa Puff - outer corner & under 3/4 of eye

Too Faced Natural Eye, Sexspresso - crease, upper lashline & lower lashline

Clinique High Impact Mascara layered over YSL Faux Cils Mascara

Lips

L'Oréal Rouge Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlet

I'm taking my Benefit Hello Flawless Powder with me if I get shiny, but for now I haven't powdered my skin. I hope you like it! 

Love, Alissia xx