Review: Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Deep Cleansing Milk

Hi! Today I have another review, and you might remember a while ago in a little haul I bought Soap and Glory's Peaches and Clean Deep Cleansing Milk while it was on offer in Boots.

I've actually used this up at an alarming rate and the first thing I have to mention is the smell. It might not be to everyone's taste (not that you want to eat it) but I'm with Mikhila (Miss BudgetBeauty) on this one. I love it. It's quite strange, being peachy yet minty at the same time, but I find it really refreshing and maybe even relaxing!

I was a bit confused about this product at first. I normally use foaming cleansers but apparently they can strip moisture from your face so I thought this would be a good alternative, but I wasn't sure how I was supposed to use it. I mean, it is a cleansing milk, so should I use it as my makeup remover? Should I use it with a flannel? The answer is basically you can use it however you want, but it needs to be left on for at least 5-10 minutes or it won't have had a chance to do anything. I really like how it just gently tingles as I leave it to work. Sometimes I'm knackered and just want to take my makeup off, do my teeth etc and go to bed, so in that case I just leave this on while I do other stuff. Miss Budget Beauty has even said before that she's left it on overnight! So in that way it's sort of more a face-mask-that-doesn't-dry as opposed to a normal cleansing milk.

It doesn't sting and it actually seems to moisturise a bit while it's there. I have used it both for normal cleansing and for makeup removal and I think it works well for either, although an important thing to remember is you shouldn't use this bad boy to remove your mascara - it will hurt your eyes. It's gentle, but not gentle enough for eye makeup. It will definitely help make sure every last trace of foundation/concealer/blusher/bronzer is gone from your face though. Soap and Glory claim it 'melts away makeup' and it does! I typically use face wipes or cotton pads to remove the cleanser, along with warm water.

If you're a regular reader then you'll know that my skin is usually pants, so I won't bore you with too many details! But yes, my skin is quite oily/blemish prone and the only reason I'm not quite 100% in love with this product is because it's not really done anything to help fight breakouts. To be fair, this product is aimed at all skin types so that tells me right away that it's not going to tackle a specific skin issue, though if you have dry skin I think you'll quite like the moisturising feel you get whilst you leave the product on. If you have very sensitive skin you might want to avoid this because of the glycols it contains. If you buy this and are nervous about whether you might react badly to it, maybe do a patch test on your neck just to be safe.

Another thing that was a downside and is more my fault than the product's is the fact that I couldn't work out how to lock the pump before I went travelling down south to see my boyfriend, so I wasted some of that peach-smelling-creamy-goodness in the little bag I put it in! Does anyone know how to lock the pump?!

Anyway, let's round up the pros and cons:

Pros:

The smell
Attractive girly packaging
Somewhat moisturising
Tingles but doesn't sting
Melts away makeup as you rub it in
The smell
For all skin types so universal

Cons:
You need a separate eye makeup remover
Might not be suitable for very sensitive skin
Can't lock the pump packaging
For all skin types so not targeting any skin issues

Here are the ingredients:

Overall, this is a great cleanser, even if you only want to use it for makeup removal and then use something else afterwards just to be sure. It's definitely worth trying. I would probably repurchase this for the smell for makeup removal and then use Micellar Water/cotton pads for getting rid of eye makeup. At £8 normally that's a bit pricey for a makeup remover so I'm probably more likely to buy it again when it's on offer. Speaking of which, it's in a 'buy one get second half price on selected Soap and Glory' offer at Boots right now.

Edit: I just realised that not only has the packaging changed again, but the amount of product has been increased from 200ml to 350ml which in my opinion makes this product great value for money! Hopefully Soap and Glory won't decide to increase the price soon to reflect that, but still it's great to see a brand increase rather than decrease the amount you get and not change the price.

I hope this post was helpful!
Have you tried this product? What's your favourite cleanser right now?

Thanks for reading,

Sabrina xx

Day to Night Dresses

Hi everyone, so I have another fashion post today as I'd like to talk about some of the day and night time dress I like to go for! I don't get the chance to take full length pictures of my outfits very often as I don't own a full length mirror, but I definitely want to get more of them so I can share Outfit of the Day posts with you all.

These pictures aren't going to be the usual kind you're probably used to seeing in fashion blogs of chic, elegant women posing in front of various interesting backgrounds!

I love how dresses are so easy to wear and basically make an outfit with minimal effort. I always feel slightly awkward posing with my hand on my hip for some reason so I only have one photo here with that pose haha.

For a day dress, I really like this New Look Tall purple dress which I got the very last one in (sorry!) on Asos.com with 20% off, so it was only about £8!

My shoes are from Dorothy Perkins :)

I just wore it for a day at my Grandad's spending time with my family sitting outside under an awning. It was very warm and sunny and this dress was just a nice casual day dress which kept me cool. I know considering it's plain I probably should have paired it with some jewellery but I'm honestly not a big jewellery-wearer. I do quite like the 3D daisy bracelet the model is wearing on the website but I haven't been able to find it or one like it yet. My sunglasses are a freebie pair I got with an issue of Cosmopolitan ages ago. This month's issue actually has free sunglasses as well as a packet of Mentos fruit sweets!

Here are three of my going out dresses:

Click to make this picture bigger!

I think the style of the middle dress works quite well with my smallish boobs and I really like this belt for pairing with different outfits. The midboob dress (lol) is another one of my favourites and is from Topshop over two years ago! The red dress is actually from the Rihanna for River Island collection yonks ago, it's a bit sexier than I usually go for but I like it has a dipped hem flowing at the back - it helps with keeping my modesty whilst bending down! It also has an open back and a culotte style so it's a little bit like a playsuit. Here's Elle Fanning looking gorgeous in the same dress. That picture is from my 21st Birthday night out :) I wear heels on most nights out although sometimes I can't be bothered and I'm tall as it is so I don't like to feel like a giant in them!

Again for night, and on dinner date nights with my boyfriend I like to wear a slightly posh and feminine dress.

Do you like my socks? :D

I love the sweetheart neckline of this floral Dorothy Perkins dress and I have a few other date night dresses from DP; they do great styles which bring you in at the waist and then flare out a little bit which is very flattering. Something about this dress seems slightly wintery and on the DP website the model wears it with thick tights and boots, but I still think it's a good date night dress in the summertime. This dress is completely sold out on the website unfortunately but if you like it you can still find out whether any nearby stores might still have your size!

For cover ups I generally would wear a light jumper over the day dress and a beige leather jacket over the night time dresses, although I do sometimes like to wear my leather jacket during the day.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

How do you take your style from day to night when it comes to dresses? :)

Thanks for reading,

Sabrina xx

Out, Damned Spot - Witch Blemish Gel Review

Hello, so I've mentioned before about how I have quite bad skin (which has actually got a bit worse lately thanks to a certain thing.) Obviously having bad skin isn't the end of the world but it does get me down a bit, so considering I have no control over my hormonal breakouts it's great that I've found (and many times repurchased) the Witch Blemish Gel, which has been probably the best spot-zapper I've used so far.

It's basically a clear gel with (as the brand name suggests) extract of Witch Hazel. You're meant to apply it at night so that it can get to work while you sleep but I occasionally use it during the day and it still works well - though not if you want to wear makeup over where you've applied it.

This product is especially good at helping to reduce the size of any large, red 'angry' spots (like the ones you might get during that time of the month) but it also helps with 'juicy' smaller spots. It won't make a spot disappear overnight but it still does an amazing job of soothing and reducing it and then hopefully making it go away sooner. I find that any large spots quickly dry up and form a scab after I've used this a few times..sorry if these details are disgusting haha. It can sometimes feel tingly as it works which itches and I have to resist the urge to touch the area!

At £3.29 for 35ml from Boots it's also really good value for money. I used to use Witch's Blemish Stick which was okay but I found it to be not very hygienic as you dab the stick onto your face or use your fingers, whereas the Blemish Gel is in a squeezy tube. Witch say this is great for all skin types but especially oily/combination skin and this is true - if you have dry and/or sensitive skin then I'd recommend only using it lightly.

Overall if you're looking for a new spot treatment I would really recommend this product, it really works!

Have you tried this? Do you have another spot treatment that you'd recommend?

Sabrina xx

Review: NARS Wonder Lip Gloss

Hello! So I'm normally really not much of a lip gloss-wearer. I went to Uni in Aberystwyth which, being by the coast, was often windy - so lip gloss wasn't really a good idea (unless you like having hair stuck to it!) Nevertheless a few years ago I gave in and bought this Nars lip gloss, pretty much because youtubers like Tanya Burr and Fleur De Force were always raving about them and how non-sticky and comfortable they are to wear!

As it's Nars, it's pretty expensive...I actually paid £15.75 for mine because I got 10% off the old price (£17.50) in 2013, but they now retail for £19. That 10% off was student discount at Asos, so if you're a student and want some Nars in your life, Asos is the site to get it. Also, every now and then Debenhams do 10% off beauty and John Lewis tend to do the same promotions as their competitors - hence you can get 10% Nars with them occasionally. Obviously it doesn't make a huge amount of difference but hey, it adds up!

I tried to a pick a more unique shade too so it's hopefully more special than a gloss I could just get for a fiver or so on the high street, as well as maybe having a nicer formula (not that you can't get great glosses on the high street; I quite like the Barry M ones.) I do love this shade:

As you can see, it's a very pretty reddish-orange, although it definitely shows up less orange on the lips. It also has some subtle pink and gold shimmer which adds to the prettiness. It comes in the typical rubberised and unfortunately dirt-prone Nars packaging which does look good. The formula is nice and smooth, it's comfortable to wear and not too sticky although I wouldn't describe it as completely non-sticky. It also lasts around 3/4 hours before fading. It doesn't seem to smell or taste of anything.

You get a doe-foot applicator which I find works quite well:

Nars actually describe it as sheer but I wouldn't say it was particularly.You can apply just enough to get a sheer look, or you can build it up to a more intense shade, which I love. Here's how it looks:

I don't think this is a shade that pale girls like myself would usually go for but it does work with pale skin! I also think it would look amazing with tanned skin. I almost feel like it works with my natural lip colour to come off a bit more pink than it does in the tube. Here's how it looks from a distance:

If my nose looks a bit red, it's because I managed to catch a cold in June! Wah.

(I'm actually not wearing the No7 Beautiful Skin Foundation which I reviewed recently, but instead I'm wearing the Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream which I mentioned in that post. For some reason it came out looking really dark but thankfully it didn't make me look orange!)

Final thoughts: This is a gorgeous product, and the only high end lip gloss I own (and rightly so as I don't wear lip glosses a lot.) It is very pricey, but if you have £19 to spend on a lip gloss it's a great option. I think it might look quite nice layered over a lipstick like MAC's Vegas Volt.

Have you tried this lip gloss or any of Nars' other glosses? I've heard that Super Orgasm and Turkish Delight are good. I would definitely purchase another Nars lip gloss, despite the price, when I win the lottery.

If you know of any possible dupes for this product please comment below as it would be great if there was a similar alternative available on the high street!

Thanks for reading,

Sabrina xx

50 Facts About Me

Hello! So I've been blogging on here for a while now and I recently reached 100 followers on Bloglovin, so thank you for reading/following/commenting, I really appreciate it.

I thought I'd do a tag that lets you find out a bit more about yours truly...so here are 50 facts about me! It took a while to come up with these as there's nothing quite like thinking up facts about yourself that makes you think 'Oh God, I'm not particularly interesting!' But there we go haha. 

1. I have no piercings or tattoos - they're just not my sort of thing, but I have no problem at all with others having them.
2. My favourite colour is fuchsia pink.
3. I think I've mentioned this before on my blog, but I have a faint V-shaped birthmark in between my eyebrows, which isn't very noticeable.
4. When I was little I had a sort of (but not really) near death experience as whilst 'fishing' by our caravan site in Wales. I fell into a river and was pulled out by my brother.
5. I have no cousins or aunts. My family is fairly small really!
6. Speaking of family, I am the youngest of three children - I have two older brothers aged 24 and 28.
7. I can't click my fingers or swallow pills.
8. I'm quite scared of spiders.
9. In April 2014 I skydived out of the first plane I'd ever been on to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. It was as terrifying as it sounds!
10. I have never travelled outside of Europe, I really want to though! I've only been to France and Spain. I would love to go to America, Egypt or Thailand in particular.
11. I have a scar on my elbow from when I fell off my bike when I was little (what an accident prone child)
12. My birthday is the 15th of October so my star sign is Libra. (I'm 23 this year, ack.)
13.  I am one of those people who is shy when you first meet them but then I relax and open up! Especially if alcohol is involved.
14. My favourite film is Mean Girls.
15. I love listening to a wide range of music.
16. I am embarrassingly quite squeamish, so not really a fan of horror films.
17. When I was younger I went through phases of wanting to be a teacher, actress, singer, author, journalist or model (lol) but these days I want to be a Writer/Journalist.
18. I'm awful at Maths, hated it at school and had to resit it at GCSE level after I originally got a D. I got my C on the resit :) To this day I have still not needed pi.
19. I'm also not great at sport and I'm quite unfit...but I do like dancing on my own and swimming.
20. I have mild Eczema.
21. I really like wedding dresses and like to just look at them every now and then even though I'm not getting married - I'm not hinting to my boyfriend or anything haha I just think they're stunning.
22. There are certain kids films that I really like and will still happily watch as an adult! Anastasia, Mulan, The Emperor's New Groove and The Road to El Dorado are just a few of my favourites.
23. I'm also not ashamed to say that I like Eurovision a lot and I actually think that occasionally some of the music is quite good (I mean, 'Alcohol is Free' - enough said.) Although I know I'm probably alone in that opinion, plus everyone moans about how the UK always do quite badly but I think we can do quite well if we send something good.
24. I like both cats and dogs but I've become more of a dog person since me and my family looked after my Grandad's dog Lucy on and off when he's been in hospital. Lucy is a Yorkshire Terrier and such a sweet little dog. Every now and then I like to share pictures of her being adorable on Instagram so if you'd like to follow me my username is sabrina.jaine :)
25. I am a massive softie - I love hugs and sometimes cry easily (it's good to let it all out though right?!) 

    

    Just thought I'd break up the text with a picture of me and Lucy!

26. Speaking of which, I'm sometimes too nice for my own good and have learnt from past experiences to not let people walk all over me.
27. I love magazines and would absolutely love to work at a fashion magazine like Glamour or Cosmo.
28. I like the smell of bacon but I'm not that keen on the actual thing (I don't like the texture.)
29.  I'm not religious at all nor do I believe in God.
30. I love pizza, chocolate, pasta, crisps, McDonald's etc. Basically lots of unhealthy food...
31. I like chip shop fish batter far more than the actual fish, and the breadcrumbs of KFC chicken more than the actual chicken. 
32. I'm a natural brunette and have had my hair dyed dark blonde for about five years now. I find it interesting/amusing when people I meet think I'm a natural blonde as sometimes I leave the roots for a shameful amount of time (it's often expensive to get it coloured.)
33.  I don't have any allergies...that I know of anyway.
34. I've never broken a bone or been a patient in hospital (I'm hoping I haven't just jinxed it.)
35. I love reading and writing.
36.  I get periodically obsessed with things like songs, makeup items, types of sweets/chocolate, other different foods, etc.
37.  I've never been to a wedding.
38.  I have no idea if I can sing well or not as whenever I sing it's usually for a joke/whilst drunk and therefore I'm not very good because I'm not trying to be good!
39. I used to be almost teetotal and wasn't into alcohol/didn't like it much...then Uni happened.
40. I absolutely hate public speaking.
41.  I have never used a sun bed or had a spray tan, and apart from a gradual tan I'm using at the moment I don't really use tanning products.
42.  My favourite alcoholic beverage is Malibu and Coke.
43.  I passed my driving test first time in my Uni town, Aberystwyth, coming up to two years ago now as I think it was the 11th. So my probation period is almost up!
44.  I am a Feminist.
45.  I have never smoked or done drugs and I don't plan to.
46. I want to have at least two children (a boy and a girl) just not for a while yet!
47. I love helping people, and if I wasn't so squeamish/bad at science I would want to be a Doctor.
48. As much as I want to travel I don't think I'd ever want to live abroad permanently...the weather here might get on my nerves sometimes, but I'm a true Brit and this country is my home!
49. I love sleep. It's the best.
50. My middle name is Jaine. Bet you weren't expecting that one! ;)

I hope this was at least vaguely interesting?! Haha. I really like reading this tag on blogs so if you've done or would like to do this tag, please leave me the link! :)

Sabrina xx

Review: No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

Hey everyone! I thought I'd share my thoughts on No7's Beautifully Matte Foundation, which I bought at the beginning of April. This post is probably going to be quite long but I'm aiming to make it as thorough as I can!

This foundation doesn't get an awful lot of hype in the beauty world - but neither do many of No7's products. I do think No7 is a bit overpriced, but they do have some great products. It does get mostly positive reviews on Makeupalley and Boots.com though.

The No7 sales assistant used the Foundation Match Service device to match me to Calico, the lightest shade (big surprise) which matches me quite well but would be too dark if you're extremely pale. There are 14 shades to choose from which I think is pretty good.

Other things to mention:

• It's hypo-allergic
• It has an SPF of 15
• It has medium to full coverage
• It has a matte finish, as the name suggests!

I don't like to look or feel caked in makeup so I don't usually go for full coverage foundations, however this one usually feels light on the skin.

 I like how this foundation is less likely to aggravate any breakouts as No7 say "salicylic acid had been included in the formula to help unblock pores and improve the condition of the skin throughout wear." I also own the Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream which contains 2% salicylic acid. The only thing with this is it means you can't apply either of these products very close to your eyes, or it may sting. 

Calico swatched.

It claims to keep you shine free for up to 14 hours (or 12 hours according to the website) which is quite tame considering there's a 25 Hour Foundation (by Rimmel) and the L'oreal Foundation I almost bought, Infallible Matte, promises a matte result for up to 24 hours. I don't know who wears their makeup that long but I think the staying power's quite good. I wouldn't say my skin is extremely oily and this foundation wears well for around 7 or 8 hours before I start to feel a bit shiny on my forehead.

I like to apply it over the Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin (reviewed here) and use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush (from the Core Collection) to apply and blend. For testing it for this review I used no primer or powder. Although this has fairly high coverage I definitely still needed some concealer for those dark circles and blemishes...

Before, so no makeup:

After (just foundation):

Here's a comparison how my 'problem area' (i.e. where I always seem to break out) looked before and after applying this foundation, so you can have a closer look at the coverage it gives. That's right, I lost my mind and put pictures of my spots on the internet (my skin is quite rubbish at the moment.) Oh well!

^ As you can see it hasn't done much when it comes to covering the three active spots near my jawline, but it has done quite well at covering red marks which are healing old spots.

Here's how the foundation looks along with the rest of my makeup:

It might just be the lighting but if I wasn't avoiding powder for the purposes of this review I would definitely have powdered my T-zone with MAC's Blot Powder as I feel like my nose and forehead look a bit shiny.

In case you're wondering, the rest of the makeup I'm wearing is:

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara (reviewed here) applied over Seventeen Falsifye HD Mascara
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla under the eyes (reviewed here)
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair for spots
MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose under the eyes and on the brow bone
MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow with a bit of Patina at the crease
L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette
NARS Gaiety blush
NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder Sunny (I never use bronzer but I thought I'd give this a go - not sure if you can tell I'm wearing it?!)
Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle (I've raved about this lipstick before but I don't think I've actually shown how it looks on the lips until now!)

Overall, I quite like this foundation, though I don't think it's 'holy grail' at the same time. The coverage is good, but what I think I like most about it is how natural it looks, as it doesn't feel heavy or cakey at all.

You can buy this foundation only at Boots for £13.50, but look out for the £3 off No7 Makeup vouchers! There is currently a free gift offer when you buy two No7 products. There's also a 'Save £5 when you spend £35 on selected fragrance, No7 & premium beauty' offer which is only online.

Have you tried this foundation? What's your favourite foundation?

Sabrina xx