my Simple skincare routine

Last weekend I went on a skincare haul and picked up a few things from Simple. So this past week while I have been trying out these products i have developed into a routine which I thought I would share. I am unsure of prices as the receipt is long gone and I have the memory of a fish but I think it is all around £3.99.

Every night I begin by using my cleansing facial wipes. I just use these on my eye make up. These are a life saver as I find it hard to find face wipes don't don't give me an allergic reactoon. I don't know what it is in face wipes that makes me go red faced and puffy but so far only simple face wipes and some of Johnsons face wipes do me good. So if you have sensitive skin I highly recommend it.

I then use my purifying cleansing lotion. I squeeze a generous amount onto a cotton pad and use up and out light sweeping movements over my face. Don't pull downwards as it stretches the skin, meaning you'll suffer when you're older! This takes off the majority of my face make up.

Then i close my pours with with my soothing facial toner. I once again pour a good amount over a cotten pad (even though it says to use cotten wool). I repeat by just doing soft sweeps over my face and neck. 

I finish off with my hydrating light moisturiser. I squeeze it onto my finger and place a dot in the centre of my cheeks, chin, nose and forehead before smoothing it out. Once again, don't press to hard or downwards. I also use this in the morning after washing my face. 

I did also buy the deep cleansing face mask but haven't yet used it. I am excited to though as it is supposed to remove deep dirt and eliminate dead cells, which should hopefuly leave me spot free after a few uses. I will review it after I have used it. 

I absolutely love Simple and definitely recommend it. I have really sensitive skin and a lot of products I have tried in the past haven't reacted well with my face. Simple is designed for sensitive skin so nothing I have ever used from then has reacted badly with my skin. 

Isabelle

Toodle-oo

❣

Pamper night

After a long and difficult few weeks we knew we needed a relaxing weekend to unwind and enjoy ourselves. We ate good food (Isabelle's mums homemade pizza is insane!) listened to our favourite music and relaxed. Best weekend for a long time! On top of that we watched 3 good chick flicks (read further down to find out our favourites).

The first thing we did (after the pizza) was to make our very own face masks. Despite the look of them they really did work. We basically mixed about 5 recipes to get as much out if it as we possible could! 

First we cut up 2 bananas. These have brilliant nutrients for all skin types. 

Then added 2 sachets of Oh So Easy Oats original .  This thickens the mixture up and makes it much more substantial. 

We then mixed in 4 Table Spoons of Honey and 2 Table Spoons of Granulated sugar. Sugar is a brilliant exfoliator and honey helps to keep your skin exceedingly smooth. 

After that we mixed in 1 Table Spoon of Salt. This adds to the exfoliating and helps to unblock pores and blackheads. 

We also added brown sugar. This again helps with exfoliating and also makes it thicker. It also made it a much nicer colour.

Don't forget to properly mush up the bananas and mix everything together. 

It was a really nice mask, it took a while to dry and we had a lot of fun trying to put it on. We cried with laughter! I think we might use a food colouring next time to make it look a bit more appetising. Our skin was so nice afterwards. It felt really refreshed and reduced redness around problem areas of our faces. 

You can check online for other good recipes but if you want a bit of everything then definitely give ours a go. Add a bit of lemon if you want to use it before you go out. It will really brighten up your skin. 

We then filled a bath with warm shallow water, just deep enough for our feet and filled it with a mixture of these three bath foams. We don't know where they are from as I (Isabelle) got them for Christmas but all of them smell amazing! While we sat on the edge of the bath in our comfy PJs we put on the face masks. We didn't have any candles but you could always light some scented candles to set the atmosphere. 

The consistency of the facemasks wasn't the greatest and we struggled to get it to stay on our faces but we managed. We waited about 10 minutes before washing it all off with a tea tree foaming face wash from superdrug.

We then we used the simple toner and I used this simple moisturiser.

After we had cleaned up our faces we filled up the kettle ready to boil and chose some films to watch. These were: Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, a Cinderella Story and yes, He's Just Not That Into You, all typical chick-flick rom-coms. Of course there are plenty of others like; The Notebook, 500 Days of Summer, Mean Girls or even Charlie St. Cloud. The choices are endless. We then poured our matching mugs with half milk, half water and two teaspoons of m&s hot chocolate powder, before putting it into the microwave for 2 minutes and adding a lot (I mean a lot) of cream and marshmallows.

We then snuggled down and enjoyed our hot chocolate and movie, with a fresh feeling face and soft feet!

How do you and your friends relax? Let us know in the comments!
 

Toodle-oo

Isabelle and Izzy

❣

Ted Baker body care

For my birthday last year, Izzy bought me four items from Ted Baker which came in a really sweet, clear Ted Baker bag. As they were a present, prices can't be told. It included a body foam, body wash, body moisturiser and body spray. Yes, I have only just started using the body wash and body foam 8 months after Izzy gave it too me (sorry Izzy). So here is a quick review on these four products. Also sorry in advance for the poor quality photos! 

As I hardly ever have baths (haha) I have only used the body foam once but I did like it and think I might squeeze a little into the bottom of my shower before I go in as the smell is Amazing. It doesn't irritate my skin which is a bonus as I find a lot of other body foams make my sensitive skin go all red and itchy. As I don't have baths often I doubt I will buy this again but for all you bath lovers, i do recommend it. 

Next up is the moistiriser. This I finished about 2 months after Izz gave it too me and have still kept the pot to remined me to buy it again! I found it was non-greasy and moisturising. And once again, the smell is so good! I occasionally have to just smell the pot as each product smells slightly different. 

Talking about smells leads on to the next product. The body spray. Now this is a life saver for when you have those days were you just feel a little dull and need a spritz. It is also the perfect size to carry around in your school bag or handbag and perfect to use after P.E! I will definetaly buy it again as it does smell amazing.

Finally, the body wash. Not only does it make the whole bathroom smell amazing after being used but it makes you smell amazing as well! It smells just like the body spray which is great and leaves you feeling refreshed. However, I think I may be slightly allergic to it as it does make me go a bit pink. I recon I would buy this again but maybe not right after I have finished. 

If you have tried any of the products let us know in the comments as we'd love to hear what you think about them :)

Isabelle

Toodle-oo

❣

Beginners Luck

HAPPY FEBRUARY!
 I just want to start off by saying that what matters is the type of person you are, no amount of makeup can change you're personality and you don't need to do it to impress others. True friends will love you for who you are. I think until your are at least 13 makeup is pointless really, but it's whatever makes you comfortable.

I think over the last 2 years I have felt very lost when it comes to makeup. I felt that I had no idea where to start or what I needed. After watching and reading many blogs, vlogs and tutorials I have finally got to grips with it. I hope this helps anyone else that felt as stuck as I did.

Starters:

>Primer

>Foundation/Base 

>Concealer 

>Blusher/Bronzer 

>Powder 

> Mascara 

>Lipstick

>Eye shadow

>Brushes and blending sponge(make sure to wash every week or every 3 uses)

 

 

So...if you have clear skin, accept for a few spots and blemishes, you DO NOT need a full blown foundation, My suggestion would be to purchase a Tinted Moisturiser or BB Cream, this gives a light moisturising coverage without clogging up your skin. I would suggest Garnier or No7. Also a bit of concealer goes a long way.  I have found that the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation is the best, it gives brilliant coverage and is not too expensive. I also add the True Matte Perfection Mouse Foundation in my oily t-zone as it helps to keep it under control. 

In my experience powder blush is better than cream blush as I have combination to oily skin. However if you struggle with dry skin, cream blusher is perfect! 

Corals and darker pinks are best in summer and lighter pinks in winter to give a natural glow. 

I find that a small bit of bronzer goes a long way as you do not want streaks on your cheeks and to just define your cheekbones you want it to be natural. I have only tried the MUA mosaic bronzer as it was only a few pounds however I am definitely keen to try the Sleek blusher and contour kit. 

I find that pressed powder, when over foundation, sticks in areas and I will only wear it as a light cover in summer. 

However I like to set my makeup with lose translucent powder over the top and the rest of the time just to stop shine and to make sure it stays a little more. This is just to help the primer set. If you have oily skin I would definitely recommend it as I have found it a godsend, also if you are prone to shine you may as well give it a go. 

When it comes to lipstick you do not need a lot of them-not that that has stopped me. 

If you have dry lips then obviously a moisturising balm lipstick is the way to go and maybe just stick to actual lip balms for a while. If not a matte look is always classy for a day out. I find they tend to last longer too. Corals and bright pinks and reds (much like blusher) are great for summer and darker reds and plums work well during the winter.

 

A neutral eye shadow palette is not essential but is always nice to have for an extra smoky eye. Personally, I'm not very adventurous with eye shadows and just stick with simple (and cheap) combinations. Isabelle got me a super cute eye shadow palette for my birthday from H&M and I'm very impressed! 

I do believe, however, that mascara is as essential as it gets. Without it I literally look like I'm from The Walking Dead. It opens up your eyes and makes them pop. If you want a natural look then I suggest a brown but if not then you can stick to black (or super black is you think it makes a difference). Mascara can be expensive. This is true across the board. I have tried most high-street brands and although they good they are not true to all their promises. I have found however that the MUA mascaras are much better and are only £2 or £3 which is insane value for money! 

When it comes to brushes I do not know much. I was given a Fraulin*38 set for Christmas a few years ago and they do the job. For a starter they are perfect. I do use the Primark powder brush for blusher, it has a really nice feel and is really easy to apply. There are obvious recommendations for brushes like MAC and Tom Ford but they are much more expensive. The best blending sponge is by far the Real Techniques Miracle  Complexion Sponge. It honestly does live up to the hype. 
For the basics I think all you need is a powder brush, blush brush, contour brush for bronzer, blending eye shadow brush and a blending sponge to stop steaks and patchy foundation. All depending on what you use and how often you use it, this will determine how much you are willing to pay but, as with everything, the pricier ones are of better quality.

I hope this has helped you to find cheaper alternatives for the basics. If you have any other substitutes please let us know in the comments. We all love a good bargain! 

Toodle-oo

Izzy

❣

REMEMBER: You are beautiful just as you are, makeup is supposed to enhance your features NOT cover them up :)

  

Soap and Glory body product tryouts

For Christmas this year, I received a Soap and Glory gift box which included 5 items. These were the Hand Food hydrating hand cream, The Righteous Butter body moisturizer, Clean On Me moisture shower gel, Scrub Of Your Life super-smoothing body butter and a big pink bath scrunchie. I'm sorry I won't be able to put and prices on these items as they were a present and came in a set.

As I'm sure you well know, all Soap and Glory products smell divine, so that is my first big positive. No one wants to put nasty smelling things on themselves, so a nice smell is big advantage. Unfortunatly, none of the products say what is in them to give the smell.

The Hand Food doesn't leave you hands feeling moisturised for a great deal of time. It only leaves my hands feeling well moistured for around 5 minutes, until my hands feel dry again. It also has a very greasy feel to it, leaving finger prints when I go on my tablet! I don't really recommend this product as the only real positive I have found is the smell!

I really have been enjoying Scrub of Your Life as it leaves my skin feeling silky smooth after I use it. The only downer was that it also leaves me feeling a bit rubbed raw, as I'm sure you get with most exfoliating body washes.

I also have found The Righteous Butter really good as well. Unlike the hand moisturiser, i don't think its at all greasy and I find it moisturising. Its very thick (a lot like butter) and I only need a small amount to cover most of my leg! I think I will be buying this again after its gone.

The Clean On Me just seems like any normal shower gel to me. It smells brilliant but I'm not sure as to how moisturing it is. I don't think it dries out my skin, but I also don't feel any more moisturised than normal after I have used it. I don't think I will be purchasing this after I've used it, as I haven't found anything special about it.

I don't have much to say about the bath scrunchie as it just seems like any other. I'm definetaly glad I tried out these products as I now know what I find worth buying, and what I don't.

Isabelle

Toodle-oo

❣