Sabrina /

5 to try july

Olay Featherweight Moisturiser- I haven’t tried too much from Olay in the past but after a friend recommended this moisturiser and have been so pleasantly surprised! It’s light-weight but still very hydrating, even on my usually dehydrated skin, it has SPF15, is great under makeup and is really affordable. My mum has also started using the Olay Regenerist range and although she was initially very worried as she has very sensitive skin, she has been won over and converted over to Olay after many years of never switching creams!

L’Oreal Pure Clay Masks- I went to the blogger launch of these a few weeks back (join me on Snapchat for more event fun- alittleobsessed) and was initially very impressed by the price (currently just £5). They have released three new pure clay masks; a purity, a detox and a glow one which allow you to either use the one best suited to your skin or mix and match for people with a mixture of skin concerns. I’ve tried all three on different parts of my skin and really liked them, I woke up with far more brightened skin, which also felt well hydrated!

Benefit Brows– It’s taken me a little while to finally talk about the new Benefit Brow product properly as I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of new releases, but I’ve started to give them a go and there are some real gems! My favourites are Goof Proof Brow and Ka-Brow, I love how natural but defined you can get the eye with both of these products.

MAC Fix + An oldie which I have never tried but with so many rave reviews I just had to give it a go! I don’t think it’s an essential but it’s a great product to set makeup and help it look somewhat more natural, I think I’ll be using this all summer to help my makeup last and look better.

Batiste Stylist Hold Me Hairspray- Batiste Dry Shampoo will probably always be my favourite but I hadn’t tried much from their styling range. I have a few new bits but my favourite has to be the dry shampoo, it isn’t too sticky, offers the perfect amount of hold and the aerosol disperses the product really finely and evenly. I’ve been using it non-stop and it’s only £4.49!

What 5 products have you been loving recently?

Sabrina /

With Fathers day in just two week and since I haven’t ever really spoken about mens beauty on here I thought today I would share my Top 10 Mens Beauty Items. Of course, I’ve had some help from my brother, boyfriend and father to come up with the Top 10. I always try to get my boyfriend to try lots of different products and am always really interested to find out what he likes and actually sticks too. This top 10 is very much a lazy option to beauty, the bare minimum which I think really works for men.

Liz Earle for Men Cleanse & Polish, £14.75
This is the only cleanser that has come about and stuck for longer than 2 days. It’s exactly the same as the womens cleanser just in a more man-friendly bottle. It’s not greasy at all, has a fairly neutral scent and comes with a muslin cloth to help remove everything.

Liz Earle for Men After-shaving Moisturiser, £18.25
Similarly to the Cleanser it’s just simple to use, fuss-free and leaves skin feeling very hydrated.

Biotherm Homme High Recharge Eye Shot, £18
I was surprised to hear my boyfriend particularly liked this, it’s designed to reduce the appearance of bags and dark circles. It has three cooling spheres which helps him to think it’s working and also de-puffs the eyes.

GlamGlow Super-Mud Clearing Treatment, £39.99
I love this for men and women but it’s great for any men with particularly congested skin from working out and a slightly neglected skin care regime.

The Body Shop For Men Maca Root Shave Cream, £8
After trying numerous Shaving Creams this is the one they have picked; it’s easy to use, affordable, a little goes a long way and isn’t drying at all. As a plus it smells nice and offers a really good shave as it foams up really well.

The Body Shop Shaving Brush, £7
A bit more traditional than I thought they would like but makes applying the shaving cream much easier, it has a solid wooden handle and if fairly soft even thought it’s not an animal hair product.

E45 Nourish & Restore Lotion, £4.85
This is some what of a stable but I can not even explain how many bottles my brother goes through. There is nothing fancy about it but it hydrates really well and when stealing my body creams the one criteria is that ‘it’s not fancy’. It’s so inexpensive that they really don’t have to worry about how much they apply but know that it will hydrate efficiently. Can be thrown in the gym bag without any worry and doesn’t have much of a scent.

Batiste Fresh Dry Shampoo £2.99
This was some what of a shock but as most boys now have longer hair this is the perfect product if they are in a rush or after the gym, the Fresh is the most man-friendly though as it has a very unisex scent.

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Creme Contour £21.50
Although remaining quite light weight this helps smoothen hair but still keeps hair in place.

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray (Plus Surf Shampoo & Conditioner), £9.50
The Bumble and bumble Surf range is great to add texture to hair, particularly if  you are looking to add volume or keep your hair up. This one if very unisex and great for anyone looking for a little more texture.

What products do the men your life swear by?
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Sabrina /

I was having a think about Cult Status Beauty products, this real beauty industry favourites and trying to work out what I have also personally fallen in love with. I have picked my favourite inexpensive products that are not only loved by me but also most of the beauty world.

Weleda Skin Food (Available here)
This isn’t a product I use daily but it is one I always have on hand if my skin is feeling particularly dry. It’s filled with organic sunflower seed oil and extracts of wild pansy, camomile and more. I particularly like this in the winter when my skin is fighting with the wind and cold.

L’Oreal True Match (Available here)
Dubbed as a dupe for Armani Luminous silk I would argue this is one of the best foundations you can buy for under £10. It’s a perfect medium coverage that can be both built up and sheered out, it’s the perfect everyday foundation.

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish (Available here)
Although this isn’t a necessity product it sure makes life easier, remove your nail polish in a couple of second and no need to faff about with cotton wool. (They also do a toe version now)

Soap & Glory Smoothie Scrub (Available here)
My holy grail scrub, I am able to remove all of my fake tan without it leaving me red-raw. It leaves my skin looking silky smooth and feeling amazing, I’m currently all out and I feel like I have lost a leg- it’s really that good.

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Available here)
I’ve searched high and low for a product as good as this and although I think I have found a good rival (more on that another day) this is still number one. I would say I have been using this for about 8 years (gosh, that sounds crazy!) and even if I go find something I like just as much I can’t see this going anywhere. It’s great to keep greasy roots at bay, adding volume as well as texture or simply giving fine hair a bit more grip.

L’Oreal Elnett Hairspray (Available here)
This one goes without saying, it’s the best. Shame about the smell.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (Available here)
I wasn’t sure if this could be included in my ‘budget’ favourites and it’s the only product that retails for over £10 but since you can get a 50ml Starter kit for just £9.25 and cleansers tend to be far more expensive I thought I could justify it here. The Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Cleanser has won 100 awards (congratulations Liz Earle!) which speaks for itself. If you’re looking to take your skincare back to basics, starting to get into cleansers or simply looking for a fabulous everyday cleanser then this is the product for you.

Vaseline Spray & Go (Available here)
This is a relatively new release which has everyone singing it’s praises, it’s light, quick and easy- every lazy girl’s (me!) dream.

Real Technique Brushes (Available here)
Good brushes were the one thing that I could never afford as a teenager and now I find myself automatically attracted and in-love with the Real Technique Brushes which are affordable yet high quality, I just wish these were around years ago.

Barry M Nail Polishes (Available here)
This is anther product that I have loved for years, for under £4 you can pick up a Nail Paint or Gelly Nail Effect polish which has a good colour selection and great formula/finish.

Which cult beauty products have I missed out? Have you tried any of my top picks? 
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Sabrina /

A few weeks ago when I spent a couple of days in York (hotel review here) I decided to take a quick photo of what I took with me in my toiletry bag. I grabbed all of my go-to, easy to travel with products and ran out of the door so fast I forgot a moisturiser (luckily I had a great face mask!) I obviously took the standard razor, toothbrush and toothpaste but we’ll brush over the boring part.

Haircare
I’ve been using the Nioxin Shampoo and Conditioner £19.60 for quite a while now and would highly recommend it if you are looking to strengthen your hair. Luckily they are quite small as a little goes a long way, I follow this up with the Nioxin Scalp Treatment on damp, towel dried hair.

For post shower I took with me the Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence Conditioning Spray £7.50 I’ve been using this product daily for about a year. This is a big statement for me as I never use the same products daily, much less for a whole year but this really helps detangle my hair whilst protecting it when I use heat. It also last a really long time I’ve been using this mini size at home as well for a few months now. I also took the Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray £20.50 (for full size) although having basically finished this whole bottle I am still not too sure how I feel about this product. I’ve got a little mini size which makes it a great product to travel with and although I do think it adds a little bit of volume I’m not sure it’s enough to make me repurchase. I’ve instead got my eye on the Bumble and bumble thickening mousse £21.50 which I think would give me the volume I really want.

My two emergency hair products are Batiste Dry Shampoo £1.99 incase I wake up to late to wash my hair/can’t be bothered and the Bumble and bumble Dryspun Finish £21.50. It seems everyone raves about this and I actually love it too. If you have fine hair or simply want a little more volume and texture this is a great product to reach for. I’ve had this can for a while now and it somehow still has product in it although I do think I will be repurchasing it as soon as I run out.

My two go to hair brushes are the Michael Mercier Brush £14.95 for untangling my hair daily as I feel it doesn’t break my hair but does a much better job that a Tangle Teezer and the MoroccanOil Medium Barrel Brush £13.85 for blow drying.

Skincare
I really didn’t get together a great skincare collection for this day but I just wanted something I knew worked. Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser £14.75 is my usual travel choice as I know it remove all my makeup quickly and easily. I also packed the Liz Earle Gentle Exfoliator £14 and Brightening Mask  £14.75 simply as I had two mini sizes. As I managed to forget my face moisturiser I used the Brightening Mask in the morning just before doing my makeup to help prepare my skin.

Beauty Extras
I decided on Paco Rabanne Lady Million and Diesel Loverdose Tattoo as my perfume as I’d happily wear it day and night. Usually I’d take my mini perfume samples with me but as I didn’t have a lot of luggage I felt I could justify a bigger bottle of perfume.

I actually didn’t end up getting a chance to fake tan or paint my nails but I thought I would take them just in case. I have been loving He-shi Liquid Tan £31.45 recently and I think it deserves it’s own post soon but it’s pretty dark but applies easily with no lines or mistakes. The Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover £4.99 is also a must have as it is so quick and convenient; smaller than a normal nail polish remover and you don’t need to pack extra cotton wool. I packed my Butter London Nail Foundation and Top Coat as they’re are my current favourite, an OPI shade and my deodorant.

It wasn’t the most organised packing but I got all the key and essential items I needed for one night. What do you usually take away with you for a weekend away?
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