Foundation, foundation, foundation!

I've been meaning to buy these products for a while now and just yesterday I had the opportunity to go and pick them up.

The first is the Australis Fresh and Flawless powder. Many compare it to MAC's Studio Fix powder and for $11.40 it is a much more affordable powder foundation.

Its a fuller coverage and I like to dust it over the top of my set makeup when I need a little bit of extra coverage. I do it over the top of my foundation routine otherwise I end up using way too much product if I use it as my setting powder and it's not only a waste of product but it can also get quite cakey on my skin.

I think this would be better suited to a more oily skin type and although I am quite dehydrated, with the right skincare, this still works for my skin.

This is the lightest shade I could see and surprisingly it's more yellow-toned as opposed to pink! I think I personally need to apply a light layer of fake tan or get some more colour before this matches PERFECTLY on my skin.

The next is the infamous Nude by Nature mineral powder. I have wanted to try this for a while but all of the shades that I was aware of were so pink and would look absolutely ridiculous on my skin tone. I am an NC15 so very fair and quite yellow-toned and when I saw this colour in "Light", I knew it was probably going to be the best suited colour for me.

This was a little more on the pricey side at about $40. I have only tried it once so I am not quite sure yet how much I like it and if i could justify spending the money on a loose powder again. I generally go through loose powders very very quickly as I like to build coverage on my skin so we'll see how this goes.

Sophie xx

Blog inspiration

If you want to check out one of my favorite fashion blogers, head over to Third and Vision for some fashion and blog inspiration. I love scrolling through Bel's pics in lectures, at home, when i'm lacking inspiration.... I could go on and on and on.

Here's a sneak peak of her posts!

Sophie x

Out with the old, in with the new

Today I went into Groom Spa, a place that specialises in skin care, facials, etc. to get a spring package facial done. The main aspect of my treatment was a coffee berry peel, a hydrating, anti-aging treatment. Now by no means do I need an anti-aging treatment although I did need a good dosage of hydration.

I initially bought this as a gift for my mum but unfortunately she couldn't make it as she has been away for the past week so I thought I'd use it up instead. 

The beauty therapist started off my examining my skin under a special light where we saw that my skin was very dry and dehydrated. Now once we removed my makeup she reassured me that it wasn't as bad as we thought as I had used a powder foundation prior to the check which made my skin glow purple under the light (purple indicating the lack of moisture).

After discussing with her my skin care routine she told me that I was doing all the right things just using the wrong products. Prior to today, I had been using a khiels serum and a Nivea moisturiser, both of which are topical products and do not benefit your skin whatsoever.

I thought I'd switch up those two products as I have been using them for a while and have not noticed a difference in my scarring nor my hydration levels. The two products I picked up are from the Ultraceauticals range where the ingredients are concentrated which means I should see results a lot sooner than the other products.

This ultra brightening serum will help in reducing the appearance of hyper pigmentation and help in enhancing clarity and luminosity. The formula will also aid in exfoliating the skin which will help in improving the appearance of blackheads.

I have to start using this every second day in order to get my skin accustomed to the potency off the product before starting to use this every morning and night.

This moisturiser is going to aid in rehydrating my skin and replenishing the skins lipid barrier in order to resume producing oils as normal. It helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, uneven texture, and tightening the skin back top it's normal state.

In my current skin care routine I was using very low amounts of SPF, relying solely on my makeup to get my dosage of sunscreen. This moisturiser has an SPF of 30, meaning that my skin is protected and during the upcoming summer my scarring won't get worse.

I also really like the packaging of both of these products. The pump means you can easily estimate how much you need and it avoids excess product coming out.

These two products were really expensive coming to a total of $200 but you only get one face and if you don't take care of it now, you'll regret it in the future. The serum which was $130 should last about eight months which means I should get my money's worth out of it, especially if it works.

I should see results in about a month, the lady even said as little as two weeks but I'll definitely keep an eye on it and keep you posted.

Sophie x

Sunday morning shopping

Before I even finished watching Zoella's lush haul this morning, I quickly dashed to work a half hour early just so I could indulge in some Sunday morning shopping.

My first stop was lush where I picked up two of Zoe's haul items as well as one last minute addition

The overview of my purchases

Even though this is a massage bar, the residue it leaves behind has a slight pink and glittery colouring to it so this is probably something I'd use before a shower or before bed where I know I'll be showering in the morning

So the strange part is I don't have a bath in my home yet I've accumulated about 11 or 12 of these by now. I save them for when I go to my holiday house as we have a spa there so hopefully this year I actually go lots so I can enjoy my bath bombs and melts.

This was my last minute purchase. It wasn't expensive and it looks like a really nice product to use. According to the lady in the shop, you put this into a boiling hot tub or bowl of water and you place your head over it with a towel over you. Steaming is meant to open and clear your pores and with the added essential oils of the tabs it should be more beneficial for your skin.

Then I made my way over to Priceline as I am completely out of heat protectant. With work and uni I have been styling my hair more than usual and I feel terrible putting hot irons on my unprotected hair.

I also picked up some dry shampoo that came with a free shower cap. I bought a can of dry shampoo yesterday but the bf and I got though this so quickly I thought that another can wouldn't hurt.

I've tried the Lee Stafford heat protectant in the past and it was actually one of the best protectants I had used but I couldn't find the same one so I picked up a different one. There was 20% off of the range so I thought I'd get some sea salt spray to get that textured, beachy look coming into summer.

Sophie x