Must-Have Hair, Bath and Body Bits

So, For the final instalment of "introduction week" I have my hair, bath and body products all wrapped up in one nice, quick little post for you all.

These categories were too small for separate posts (and I only post 3 times a week, the maths just worked out better this way). So lets get started.

From left to right: Lush "The Comforter" Bubble Bar, Soap & Glory Whipped Clean, "Nina" by Nina Ricci perfume, V05 Heat Protect Styling Spray, Batiste A Hint of Colour Vibrant and Red Dry Shampoo

When it comes to body products, more often than not, I'm too lazy to moisturise my entire body. So to keep the dry skin away, I use Soap & Glory's Whipped Clean shower butter. It comes out of the tube like a thick body lotion and is prone to dropping off your hand mid-shower (good job it's affordable). But it works. I get out of the shower, put on my pjs and get in bed (ah, bed) and wake up the next day without a dry patch in sight.

I've never been faithful when it comes to perfume, I always have at least 4 on the go at any one time but this one is nice. The bottle is beautiful (too bad it has to be kept out of sunlight, boo) and it just smells delightful. Its sweet and fruity with a hint of floral in it. A nice transition fragrance for people like myself who have recently began the journey out of those sickly sweet, teenage fragrances.

I love a good bath. And most girls that love a good bath, love a good snoop around in Lush. I can't remember the last time I went to Lush and managed to leave empty-handed. It just doesn't happen. My favourite is their The Comforter Bubble Bar, a bubblegum pink, sweet smelling bath product that, since I have quite a small bath, I can manage around 3-4 baths out of. Just crumble under running water and turn a solid pink bar into a bath full of silky, sweet-smelling bubbles. I always have at least one in my stash.

Finally we have hair products. sigh. Hair is the one beauty thing I really don't care for. I wash it with whatever sulphate-free shampoo I can find and can't seem to commit to conditioning products either. However I've repurchased the V05 Heat Defence Styling Spray more times than I care to count. It smells nice, doesn't weigh your hair down and preps for heat-styling and sun-exposure a like.

I've also become semi-reliant on the Batiste "A Hint of Colour - Vibrant and Red" dry shampoo. Although I was never a fan of the original Batiste formula (although the blush scent is nice for a leave-in/over-night dry shampoo), I can really get behind the tinted version. Having red hair makes dry shampoo difficult. It leaves white casts, it takes away the lovely shine, it's a nightmare. However not only does this formula eliminate greasy-hair-and-no-time-to-wash-it moments, it's GREAT for hiding roots.

And so that's it. Introductions complete. Onto the good stuff.

Check back on Monday for my next post - Jodie



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Skincare Staples

So, if there's one thing in this world that I love buying above all other things, right now I'd have to say that thing is new skincare products. I'm obsessed. But while I can't go a week without scouring the isles of Boots, popping into Space NK for a "browse around" or at least scrolling the pages of Cult Beauty, there are a handful of products that I find myself relying on more than others.

My skin is oily/combination and with winter being in full swing here in the UK I'm finding that it's having some trouble with dehydration, and while once upon a time I was using foaming cleansers and skipping moisturiser all together (the horror.) I'm now embracing the oil more and really seeing a difference in my complexion.

 Clockwise from top left: Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask,  Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Origins Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask, Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm, Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Skin Renewal Cleansing Oil, Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner, Sarah Chapman Skinesis Morning Facial

When it comes to mornings, I'm generally a get-everything-done-quickly-and-go kind of girl. I like my sleep, and as much as a love a good full skincare routine, I just can't prise myself out of bed early enough most days. Which is why I love Sarah Chapman's Morning Facial. Cleanse, tone, slap this on, done. It's so quick. Hydrates instantly and doesn't interfere with make-up. Also, smells amazing.

For make-up removal, I was turning to Micellar waters for a long time, until I discovered the Una Bennan Vitamin C Brightening Skin Renewal Cleansing Oil. Again, smells wonderful (are we sensing a theme here?). The oily texture removes make-up in lightening speed, but once removed (I use a warm wet flannel to remove) it leaves the skin clean but not stripped. And at around £11 full price (although you can often get it on an offer) it's a complete steal.

I crack out Emma Hardie's Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm more often than not for a second cleanse in the evenings. I started using this last year after seeing it on Caroline Hirons blog and I've loved it since. I've had brief moments with other balms but I always come back to this. Heavy enough to cleanse well but light enough to work in and take off easily. Need I mention the scent? I only wish they'd update the packaging.

My love for exfoliating toners began with the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner and, though I've tried others, I feel like the formula on this one is top notch. Since it comes in a bottle you get more uses for your money (no wasting product on pre-saturated pads) and it does what it says on the tin.

My favourite serum has to be Esteé Lauder's Advanced Night Repair. Ignore the name, I use this morning and night and it works well for both. It's a great does-everything serum and seems to work equally well on all ranges of skin types. The bottle is lovely and the dropper is very user-friendly.

When it comes to masks, I seem to be in a go-Origins-or-go-home faze. While I do have others that I use, the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask and the Origins Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask are my favourite by far. The Clear Improvements is a clarifying charcoal mask (unlike any other that I've tried) and doesn't look too pretty when you put it on (nor does it make your flannel pretty on removal - see case in point below.)

Ew.

But oh man, does it make your skin look good. I use this around once a week in conjunction with other masks but I love this.

In contrast, the Drink Up Intensive is basically a super intense night cream, I throw on a thin layer before bed and wake up feeling nicely hydrated. Another smells-incredible product that just works.

Check back on Friday for my Bath, Hair and Body Bits! - Jodie

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My Everyday Face

Let me set the scene for you. It's 6:30am, I'm half asleep, still wearing pjs and have to leave the house in approximately 40 minutes if I want to be anywhere near on time for work.

That's when I call on these products to make me look somewhere near alive enough to manage a day in the office.

Clockwise from top left: Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot, Urban Decay Naked Palette, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in "Vanilla", Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, Revlon Colourstay in "Ivoy", Urban Decay 24/7 liner in "Perversion", Urban Decay Peversion Mascara, Soap & Glory Solar Powder, Rimmer Eyeliner in "Nude", Urban Decay Pimer Potion

After a speedy skincare application I turn to Revlon's Colourstay foundation in "Ivoy" to begin the skin tone evening out process, hide the remainder of my sins with the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in "Vanilla" and set my base in place with a quick dusting of Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot powder.

In the summer, I'm all about a rosie cheek but when it comes to winter I forget about the blush and crack out Soap & Glory's Solar Powder, I swirl the two shades together onto the tops of my cheeks to add a little winter glow to my complexion before moving onto eyes.

Urban Decay's Primer Potion has been keeping my eye shadow creaseless for years now, and after a quick blend onto the lids I move onto eyeshadow, and my most used palette lately has been the original Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Having dyed red hair, I find it so difficult to find brow products that look right on me, and so I use the shade "Buck" (A warm medium brown) as a brow colour. I generally go to shades "Sin", "Sidecar" or "Smog" as an all-over the lid shade. I then tight-line with Urban Decays 24/7 Eyeliner in "Perversion", line my water line with Rimmel's Scandaleyes Khol Pencil in "Nude" and move on to mascara.

My eyelashes are nothing to write home about, although they have a natural curl to them they are short and fair and I need all the help I can get in a mascara. So I kick things off with the Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, wait for that to dry and then go in with a couple of coats of Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara.

While I remain faithful to most of my standard routine products, when it comes to lip products, I'm always cheating.  Although lately, I'd say my top 3 lip picks look like this:

Top to bottom: Esteé Lauder Pure Colour Envy lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink", Nars Soft Matte Lip Pencil is "Iberico", Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in "Nudist"

The Nars Soft Matte Lip Pencil in "Iberico" is a perfect pick-me-up. Unfortunately a limited edition shade (although I've heard from other bloggers that it's a close match to "Red Square" from the same line) - This orangey red is everything a girl could ever want or need in a bold lip. The chalky matte texture means it sticks around for a few hours, and the orangey undertones make you teeth look white, a winner for me.

When I want a bold but my lips can't the chalky texture, I often reach for Esteé Lauder's Pure Colour Envy lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink". Again a complexion-lifting bright, the glossy finish does mean that frequent touch-ups are required, but it's a beaut none-the-less.

And finally, when I'm running around from meeting to meeting all day with no time for touch ups, a solid nude is were it's at. I find myself applying Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker (try saying that quickly) Gloss Stick in the shade "Nudist". A glossy, my-lips-but-better shade. Feels like a lipbalm, gives just enough colour. Love it.

And that's everything. Check back on Wednesday for my Skincare Staples! - Jodie

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A Short Introduction

Hello there lovely reader,

I figured since I'm new to the world of beauty blogging, some introductions are in order.

This is me:

(Cap and gown sold separately)

I'm Jodie. I'm a 22-year-old administration assistant and full-time beauty enthusiast. My addiction started in my early teens where I would religiously test out the beauty tips offered among the pages of "More" magazine and where many, many poor attempts at mastering eyeliner were made.

I first dipped my toes into the internet-waters on Youtube back in 2011 I believe, where I'd post videos of music projects I was working on during my college/uni life, and have a small portfolio on Soundcloud. But since leaving uni and entering "The Real World" (dun dun dun), I've found myself with less and less time to devote to writing music, and so have decided to follow my second love. Beauty.

After this introductory post, my plan is to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays around midday (starting next week!), covering everything from make-up, skincare, bath/body and all thats in between. Although feel free to offer up requests - I'll see what I can do.

To get things started I'm making next weeks posts all about my must-have beauty bits, starting with my everyday make-up routine.

Check back on Monday to see what I'm wearing on my face everyday. - Jodie

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