Desk Beauty Essentials

July 11, 2016

Being a beauty blogger, but also having a full time job at the same time means that I spend the majority of my life sat at a desk working my little toosh off. I've seen a few bloggers talking about the beauty products that they keep on their desks, so I thought it would be fun to share the products that I keep on my desk at work that I reach for quite a lot throughout the day.

When it comes to using and carrying beauty products around during the day, I do try to keep it quite minimal as i'm not an overly fussing person and i'm not really one to reapply my makeup throughout the day. So when it comes to my desk beauty essentials, again I keep it really minimal with the products that I store on my desk at work and they are only products that I genuinely use, as I hate unwanted clutter especially as my desk is quite hard to keep tidy at work anyway.

When it comes to my job, i'm usually crazy busy from sorting through all of the clothing samples within the office and general admin duties, and because of this my hands really can suffer from some dryness from time to time. I'm not a usual hand cream kind of girl but i've really been converted and my current favourite hand cream is the Gallinee La Culture Hand Cream* (£12). I've been testing a few products from this brand and i'll go into more detail in another post about what this brand is all about, but i've been loving this hand cream so much. It has a lovely creamy, yet thick consistency that absorbs so quickly in comparison to other hand creams i've used previously, and this doesn't leave my hands feeling oily or greasy. I also really like the scent of this hand cream as its quite natural, as i'm not a huge fan of artificial floral scented hand creams.

Another nourishing product that I keep a fair few of on my desk is a lip balm of some sort. I usually just keep cheap ones on my desk, as I can't be bothered to transport my Nuxe one backwards and forwards from work but saying that I really like the Nivea Essential Care Lip Balm (£1.65) as it's really gentle on the lips and does the job of keeping my lips nourished throughout the day. I also keep a pot of Vaseline Pocket Size (£1.95) in my drawer as a back up option, as you can't go wrong with a tub of Vaseline.

Lastly onto the makeup products that I keep on my desk, and as I previously mentioned i'm not the kind of girl to really care to reapply my makeup throughout my day, other than lipstick of course. Having said that, I do like to keep a couple of products just in case I am in need of a touch up especially if a spot decides to pop up in the middle of the day, or if my skin is feeling a little oily. The concealer I like to keep at work in the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer (£5.49) as it's one I don't use for my daily makeup but it's great at covering up any blemishes throughout the day. I know you can probably relate, when you've got a blemish or one decides to appear out of nowhere and you just need to cover it up! I also keep the Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder (£3.99) at work just to powder over my skin if I need to, or if i'm going out for dinner after work as this has been a long time favourite of mine.

So those are the few products that I like to keep on my desk at work in order to get me through the day.

What products do you carry/keep when you're working?

beauty

Duty Free Beauty Haul

July 08, 2016

As many of you know, especially if you follow me on Instagram that i've been on holiday this past week and I arrived back home on Wednesday. One thing that I always love about going away is getting to use up the last bit of currency having a splurge in duty free and I thought i'd do a little duty free haul.

Initially I was only going to pick up a new perfume in duty free, but I actually came back with more Euro's than I initially expected so I thought i'd have a little splurge and treat myself as I haven't really purchased any exciting lately. Also because duty free is somewhat cheaper in comparison, I couldn't not pick up a few bits that i'd had my eye on for a while.

The first product that I picked up was the Paco Rabanne Olympea Perfume (£33.99), which I knew I was going to pick up as my current bottle is starting to run low. This fragrance has been a favourite of mine for quite a while now and I honestly cannot get enough of it. I opted for the bigger bottle of the two that they had on offer, as I knew i'd get through the smaller bottle way too quickly and the price difference between the two was so justifiable. If you've followed my blog for a while then you'll know that I love this fragrance and if like me, you really like girly floral scents then you will probably like this, as it's still a girly fragrance but is a little more bold but still lovely.

Also whilst browsing the duty free, I stumbled across the Benefit stand and after falling in love with a little freebie I decided to pick up the full size of the Goof Proof Brow Pencil (£18.50). I was quite surprised that they had the new brow products, as they have only just been released but I just knew that it was a good opportunity to get my hands on a full size as i've almost finished up the small tester that I had. If you're on the hunt for a new brow pencil, that won't really break the bank but gives really good results then i'd highly recommend trying this out. Also from Benefit, I decided to pick up the Roller Lash Mascara (£19.50) as it was slightly cheaper on board the plane duty free and after falling in love with this mascara back when it was released, I just knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. What I love about this mascara is the lift it gives to my lashes, that I find no other mascara does and I honestly prefer this mascara to any other mascara that i've tried.

The last item I decided to treat myself to was another set of the Estella Barlett Friendship Bracelets (£20), which a good friend of mine previously gifted me with and I love them that much that I couldn't not get another set. I love how minimal and beautiful these bracelets are, and I find they just add a lovely little touch to any outfit. This set is exclusive to Thomas Cook, but you can pick up these bracelets individually and you can mix and match to create your own set.

So those are the few bits I picked up from duty free beauty wise. I also picked up some alcohol (as you do) and some chocolate treats for my family to enjoy!

Have you picked anything up from duty free recently?

haircare

Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Primer

July 05, 2016

It's been a little while since i've spoken about some new in hair products, as I often find hair care doesn't go to well on the blog but also because I don't really change up the products that i'm using as often as some do. Having said that, there is one product that i've been loving so much recently and it's like no other product that i've used, so I just had to share it with you.

Redken is one of my favourite hair care brands, after trying out several of their products and never being disappointed they are a brand that I will always go back to. Their products are very innovative in comparison to their competitor brands and the quality of their products is just amazing.

A product that i'd heard a fair bit about in the recent months, thanks to one of my favourite bloggers Lily Melrose is the Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Primer* (£17) and after seeing how much she loved this product, I just knew that I needed to try this out. I was delighted when the team at Redken sent over this for my to try, which was accompanied by some american candy that we all know i'm a sucker for. With primers being such a huge thing in the makeup world, I did wonder how long it would take for it to branch into other areas of beauty but a blow dry primer is definitely a product I was not expecting.

As I suffer from dry and damaged hair, due to constant re-dying i'm always on the look out for products that specialise in protecting against heat whilst also doing my hair some good. This primer is designed to not only prep the hair for a blow dry, but to also protect the hair from any heat and to strengthen the hair to shield it from breakage. I've been using this every single time that i've dried my hair for the past two weeks, applying it to the majority of my hair whilst it is wet but avoiding the roots and really allowing it to soak into my hair. What I love about this product is that it not only speeds up the drying time of your hair but it also protects to up to 230℃ which is great, especially when your styling your hair after it's blow dry.

So far i've found that my hair is looking a lot less frizzy, as it works to help tame flyaways and my hair feels so much more softer on a daily basis. If like me you have dry hair, that is somewhat thick and often frizzy, then i'd truly recommend trying this product!

Have you tried anything from Redken?