Skincare Routine: Morning

Hello! I hope you are all having a great week and summer! I am back from my holiday to Ireland which was so much fun. I thought I would write a skincare post for you because I am so happy with this routine and haven't changed it for months now which is very rare for me!

This post is going to be my morning skincare routine! My morning routine is very short so I thought I would do another post on my evening skincare routine and masks/treatments as well if you would like to read one of those! 

My skin is combination as my nose gets very oily throughout the day and the rest of my face is pretty normal. I do get the occasional breakout now and then, however my skin has actually been very good and clear since I have been using all of these products!

I start the morning by cleansing my face using my Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm. I absolutely love this cleanser and I can honestly say it is the best I have ever tried! It is fairly expensive though so if you know of any other cleansing balms that are nice then please let me know! I do love this one though as my skin is left feeling so soft and hydrated. It also removes all of my makeup, including waterproof eye makeup very easily and gently so I don't need a separate makeup remover.

I recently bought the Origins Ginzing Energy Boosting Moisturiser which is amazing! Moisturisers are the one product I have never been happy with. I am constantly trying different moisturisers and I never repurchase the same one twice. I bought this one about 2 months ago now though and it is my favourite as it works so well for my skin! It is oil free and leaves my skin looking hydrated and radiant without being at all greasy.

Finally, the eye cream I use is the Origins Ginzing eye cream. I rediscovered this about a month ago and I have fallen back in love with it! I had a mini one which I took with me on holiday and then when I got home I found my full size and have been using it since. This is a lovely eye cream as it's so refreshing and gentle around the eyes. You may know I was using the Elemental Herbology eye elixir before I went on holiday which I still have and it's lovely, however it's expensive and I just don't think it's worth it!

That is it for my morning skincare routine! The only thing I would like to incorporate into this is a toner, so please leave me a comment if you have any recommendations. Also let me know if you would be interested in an evening routine post :)

I hope you are all having a lovely day! Let me know in the comments below your favourite skincare products!

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Guest Post: What's In My Summer Makeup Bag

Hello lovely fans of Beauty Becky! I'm Rachael from the blog A Is For Ayla and I'll be guest posting here today, sharing what's in my Summer makeup bag.

Before we start, I should add that my makeup bag is a small Cath Kidston one. It's a thick oil cloth material both inside and out meaning those pesky foundation smears you sometimes get after a while can be wiped away easily to bring the ditsy floral print back to its glory. Inside, the bag comes with a small, round mirror also coated with oil cloth. It's handy for times when you need to do touch-ups but the products you're using don't have mirrors included. Generally, each print comes in 2 sizes of makeup bag. I have the smaller one which costs £10 and is better for a college or handbag. The other is slightly larger and for £12 is the perfect size for travelling.

For face, During the Summer I prefer to keep my makeup as minimal as possible. To make the most of everything that I do wear, I use the Smashbox Oil-free Photo Finish Primer. The oil-free version is relatively new and in my opinion doesn't get enough hype in the blogger community. It's a thin, smoothing primer which sinks in to the skin incredibly quickly and creates a perfect canvas for your makeup. Primer is important for Summer as in hot climate makeup has a tendency to 'slide' off the face or fade more quickly. To achieve good coverage but avoid feeling 'sticky' or 'cakey' in hot or humid weather I use the Bare Minerals Original Foundation. The beauty of mineral makeup is that its very low maintenance and does not require extensive blending or touch ups throughout the day and contains SPF - perfect for protecting your skin out in the sun!

For a little bit of dimension to my face, I use Nars Laguna Bronzer lightly through my cheekbones and around my forehead to enhance my Summer tan. I love dotting a small amount of blush from the Sleek Blush By 3 Palette in 'Lace' on to the upper apples of my cheeks. These blushes are very bright, perfect for Summer. The strong pigmentation means they need a bit of blending work but a bright blush is an easy way of adding colour to your face and can work for almost any skintone. I also love the Revlon Just Kissable Balm Stain in 'Darling' for adding a pop of colour. As a stain, its a fool-proof, low maintenance lip colour that doesn't take a lot of effort. Korres Lip Butter in Quince is the perfect balm to apply underneath as its really light and soft. I'll be honest, as a massive hay fever sufferer, a lot of the time I avoid eye makeup all together. Instead, I just curl my lashes to open up my eyes a bit more and add a bit of feminine flair where otherwise I'd be feeling (and looking) pretty under the weather.

And that's what's inside my Summer makeup bag! I'd love to know what products you're using for the season. If you enjoyed this post there are plenty more like it on my blog, A Is For Ayla! And lastly before I leave, a huge thank you to Becky for letting me post!

Guest Post: Favourite Summer Nail Polishes

Hi everyone! I hope most of you have almost finished their finals – I’m almost done and I’m so looking forward to summer and travelling! Today I’m going to show you my favourite summer nail polishes. I'm such a sucker for Essie nail polishes, but I did my best to select a few others too! Lately I’ve been really into bright and pastel colours, sometimes even neon nail polish. I think bright colours are awesome for warm summer days so that’s why I’ve chosen a few of my brightest shades. 

The first shade is Essie Tart Deco! It’s a soft, yet bright orange that lacquers very nicely. It’s very pretty on hands and feet – I tend to apply this on my toes when I’m wearing sandals. 

The second nail polish is Rimmel’s Salon Pro Ultra Violet! This was one of my best friend’s presents for my birthday and as soon as I saw it, I fell in love with the colour! I have two Rimmel nail polishes featured in this post, but they are both very different – read on if you want to know why, haha. The brush of this nail polish is incredible, I like it even better than the Essie ones and they are already pretty good! It seriously lacquers so nicely and lasts as long as an Essie nail polish – which is about 3-4 days if you’ve applied a top coat – and they are a little cheaper aswell! 

The next shade is OPI Suzi’s Hungary Again! It’s a nail polish from the Centrale Europe 2013 collection. It has a glossy finish and I’ve heard some people say that there’s a little shimmer in it. I haven’t noticed it though, and it’s my sister’s nail polish which means she wears it more often, but she hasn’t noticed anything either. Weird haha! I love the consistency of this nail polish though *tiny rave*. It’s very thin but yet it layers nicely! How awesome does that sound?! I’ve never applied a better nail polish in my entire life. I swear.

Essie Mint Candy Apple is one of the most sold Essie nail polishes! If I had to pick an ultimate summer favourite – it would be this nail polish! To me it’s an ocean blue colour but there is some green in there aswell, though it depends on the lighting. The best thing about this nail polish is that it dries super fast. Some people find it streaky, but I think you definitely need at least two coats to see the colour in its true opacity. I once applied six coats of this nail polish – I think I was a bit bored haha – and seriously, it lasted me an entire week without a single chip…till I decided that I would pull at the nail polish myself. Classic bored study problem during exams.

The last colour is Rimmel’s I <3 Fruities Lemon Drop. Okay and here’s the difference: remember that I told you the Rimmel Salon Pro lasts long and lacquers nicely?! Well this one is HELL. The colour is absolutely gorgeous but it’s such a pain applying and noticing that some nail polish bits have already started to chip after a few hours. Rimmel are you serious?! I really don’t like applying this nail polish, but yes it’s a very pretty shade.

That’s it! These were my summer favourites. Except for the Rimmel Lemon Drop one, all these nail polish lacquer very nicely and look amazing. No streaks!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my post! If you’re curious, I blog at scribblesofvalerie.com. Thank you for reading my post and thanks to Becky for having me on her awesome blog! Have a great day!

X, Valérie

Guest Post - Top 5 Beauty Buys For Under £5

Hi guys, I’m Michaela. I recently started my own blog, Michaela-Leigh, a few months ago and so I am quite new on the blogger scene. I am so happy that Becky picked me to do a guest post on her brilliant blog, as I have been following her for a while now. Today, I have decided to do a post about my top 5 beauty buys for under a £5. I am a firm believer that some high-street brands are just as good as some higher end products, and drug-stores offer such great value for money. Furthermore, I thought that would share with you some of my favourite products that I am currently loving.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Blackberry- £ 3.99

Firstly, I have always been a hoarder when it comes to Barry M nail varnishes – I have pretty much every colour under the sun! I was so excited when the Hi-Shine polishes came on the market and since using Blogger, I have read multiple rave reviews on this product. I recently bought the colour ‘Blackberry,’ which is a beautiful deep navy shade to go with a dress I recently purchased. Upon my first use of the varnish, I was hooked immediately. The formula is so thick, hence for a dark colour like this one, you only need to apply one coat (which is great if you are in a rush or are impatient with letting your nails dry properly.) The finish is ultra glossy and looks like you have just had a professional manicure. The only downfall to this product is that it tends to stain my nails a little, so I recommend that you always use a top coat before application. I love this colour so much that I definitely want to buy some brighter colours for summer, I have my eye on the shades ‘Guava’ and ‘Mango’ next.

St Ives Moisturising Olive Scrub - £4.99

I have always been somebody who likes to experiment with my skin care. Consequently, I have tried pretty much every face wash and face scrub on the market. However, since using this St Ives olive scrub, I never want to go back to any other scrub ever again! The scrub claims to ‘re-energise the skin without greasiness,’ which is perfect for combination skin which can tend to get rather oily. In addition, the exfoliating beads are not too rough or coarse, which means that the product can smooth my face without irritating my skin in anyway. The thing I love most about this scrub is its brilliant moisturising properties. Using this product alongside my Simple moisturiser every morning leaves me with smooth, hydrated skin which provides an excellent base to apply my make-up on to. I definitely recommend this scrub to those with combination skin who love skincare products with a lovely, fresh scent.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in PinkBlossom - £3.99

I first bought this powder shortly after discovering Tanya Burr’s YouTube videos a few months back. I was surprised that an established make-up artist such as Tanya swears by such a low-end brand of powder rather than an über expensive one, and as a lover of Rimmel anyway, I knew that I had to have it! As mentioned above, I have combination skin and I can never apply make-up without using a powder afterwards to set it in place. That being said, for years I had been using 17’s Pressed Powder, which looking back on it now was not a very good-quality powder at all. However, since switching over to the Stay Matte powder, I am so impressed! This powder banished all of the shine on my face, especially around my T-zone which tends to be my most troublesome area. Also, a light dusting of this product on to my powder brush goes a long way, so I know that I will not be hitting the pan of this product any time soon. For £3.99, I believe that this powder should be a staple in every girl’s make-up bag.

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover - £4.99

I recently purchased this product on a bit of a whim whilst browsing through the Bourjois stand in my local Boots store. To my delight, there was an offer where if I bought any two nail-related Bourjois products that equalled to £8 or more, I would receive a free Bourjois nail art kit which includes 150 stickers and stencils. Let’s just say, I couldn’t resist! As for the polish remover itself, it’s brilliant. I often find taking my nail varnish off such a chore and I always get through so many cotton wool pads, it feels so wasteful. To use this product, you simply dip each finger into the sponge inside the pot, wait a few seconds and twist your nail, then remove it. The process is so instant and can even remove two or three layers of varnish in a matter of seconds. Pretty impressive, right? The only downfall to this particular product is the smell is quite over-powering, despite the fact the product doesn’t even contain any acetone. On the bottle, it also claims to have a red fruit and vanilla fragrance, which is not the case at all. However, the simplicity of the product is definitely worth the slightly unpleasant smell in my opinion.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance ShimmerTouch in Shimmering Sand - £4.99

Last but not least is this brilliant shimmer from Rimmel. I find that after I apply my foundation, powder and blusher, my face is very two-dimensional and matte. In turn, this can make my complexion look extremely dull – especially during the summer months.  So, when I saw this product and swatched it whilst in Boots, I knew I had to have it! I chose the more bronzed coral colour as opposed to the pink shade they also do, as we are into the summer months now (despite the English rain) and I have a slight tan now. I apply the cream just about where I apply my blusher, just like a highlighter, to make my cheekbones have a nice glow to them. The product is a great consistency and a little goes a long way, but its one negative point is that there are a few too many glitter particles for my liking. Saying this, I do definitely recommend this shimmer for anybody whose skin needs a bit of a pick-me-up.

I hope that you have all enjoyed reading about my top five beauty products for five pounds or less. I would also like to thank Becky again for giving me the opportunity to feature as one of her guest bloggers. I would love to know which products under £5 you all recommend, so feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if any of you have already used one of the products above, I would love to hear you opinions of them too. In addition, if you liked my guest post, I would appreciate it if you would check out my blog too. Thank you! 

Guest Post: Favourite Summer Products

Hi I'm Georgina from Livelaughlipstick and I'm guest posting on Becky's blog while she's away! So thank you Becky for letting me guest post! I thought I would talk about a few products that are perfect for summer! When the weather gets warmer and when I go on holiday I tend to prefer a lighter coverage foundation, Mac Face and Body is the perfect foundation as it barely feels like you are wearing anything! If you prefer slightly more coverage you can apply more, the great thing about this foundation is that it doesn't look cakey, you can keep applying it until you get the coverage you are happy with! You can also use it on your body and it's perfect on legs too! As I like my skin to feel like I haven't got many products on it, I don't really like wearing a powder so spritzing some of the Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist over the top of foundation, sets makeup in place and is also very refreshing, so if you are going anywhere hot on holiday this is great! I tend to wear lipstick more in the summer as I love brighter shades and I think coral and orange are typical summer shades, I personally love Mac Vegas Volt and the Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti. The Revlon Lip Butters have such a lovely consistency, they are so easy to just apply quickly and they are so moisturizing on my very dry lips! Mac lipsticks are hyped up just about everywhere but the range in shades and consistencies is just great! Vegas Volt is definitely one of my favourite shades from Mac! Another perfect lip colour if you want a more subtle look is the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish, this is such a pretty pink and it's great for throwing in your bag and applying on the go! Finally, you can't go wrong with a pink blush! I love Nars Deep Throat Blusher, it is one of my favourite blushers and has a subtle shimmer so adds some summer glow to your skin! Nars products are a bit of a splurge but I really love this blusher and hope to buy more soon!

What are your favourite summer products?

Guest Post: Festival Essentials

Hello everyone, my names Rebecca and I’m being a guest blogger for Becky whilst she is away on her holidays (lucky!). So as festival season is well upon us, I thought I’d show you my festival essentials that I shall be taking along with me in August to Leeds Fest!

Baby Wipes

Do these really need an explanation? 3-4 days without showering, plus the possibility of getting covered in mud and god knows what else (I don’t want to know what you naughty lot get up to!) so your body won’t exactly be smelling as fresh as a daisy. These will quickly freshen you up and keep you clean!

Sun Cream

The British weather isn’t very reliable, it could be raining one day and be 25 degrees the next, but to stay safe take some sun cream so that if the sun rears its head, you won’t get burnt!

Dry Shampoo

If your hair is anything like mine it starts to look like you could fry an egg on it after two days of not washing it, so dry shampoo is a must! Spray some at the roots and massage it in to add some life back into it.

Deodorant

No-one wants to be a sweaty betty and with all the dancing and singing along you will get done, you are 100% guaranteed to get sweaty. Use it to fight against those unsightly (and stinky) sweat patches!

Hand Sanitizer

You really don’t know what you’re going to be touching at a festival and so I always keep stocked up on anti-bacterial hand sanitizer to use after those not-so-nice portaloo trips.

Collection 2000 Concealer

If there’s one thing I hate it’s my dark circles under my eyes; add in a lot of heavy drinking and lack of sleep and you’re bound to end up looking like something from the Walking Dead. No-one wants a full face of makeup for a festival, but a dab of this under your eyes and on any spots will make your appearance much brighter!

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Mascara is another essential for me, my eyes just don’t look normal without it! But if you are taking it to a festival, make sure you take a non-waterproof version! It’s bad enough to take off at home with micellar water, imagine it with just a wet wipe! *shudders*

MAC Viva Glam Nicki

A bright lipstick can completely change your makeup and so even on days with minimal makeup, a slick of it on will boost your appearance! You may prefer a red lipstick, but as I currently don’t own one (any suggestions?) this fluorescent pinky/coral shade will work perfectly.

Korres Lip Butter

If you can’t be bothered fiddling with a lipstick, these lip butters are the perfect option to give a bit of moisture and gloss to your lips whilst the added SPF protects them. One swipe on and you’re ready to go!

Floral Crown/Headband

Move over wellies, these are literally the festival must have item this year! Seen on everyone from Lana Del Rey to Pixie Lott, pop one on over wavy hair for the ultimate festival hairdo. This one was only £3 from Primark too!

Sunglasses

Fairly obvious, you need something to protect your eyes from the sun and help you see your favourite artist better!

Small Purse

True story: last year my friend left all of her money, around £80, in her tent, thinking that no-one would go in to steal and what happened? Yep, the lot was taken. Moral of the story - keep your money with you all the time! Put it in a small purse like this and keep it in your pockets, so there’s a less chance of it being stolen or you losing it.

An Old Camera/Phone

Obviously we want to take photos with friends and of the acts we see, but take your new DSLR or iPhone 5 and you may as well kiss it goodbye. Buy a basic £10 phone from Tesco and take an old camera that you wouldn’t miss if it got lost with you and you’re good to go.

So those are my festival essentials, I hope you enjoyed this post! Rebecca xx

Guest Post: Top 5 Summer Lip Products

Hello Everyone!

My name is Danielle and I write a beauty blog called The Imperfect Beauty. I am so excited to be guest-blogging for the ever-so lovely Becky today! I wanted to share with you my top 5 lip products for the Summer. I am a massive fan of lip products in general and it was quite a task to whittle it down to just 5 but I hope you like my picks!

No.7 BB Lips - Blush Coral

I'm not normally a big fan of lip glosses but when I picked this up on a whim a couple of weeks ago, I fell in love! It's not sticky whatsoever on the lips which is a massive selling point for me because I hate the feeling of tacky, sticky lips. It gives a nice sheer wash of colour on the lips which is nice for a sunny day as it's not too heavy!

YSL Rouge Volupte - Peach Passion

Can you tell I'm going through a Coral phase at the moment? My boyfriend very kindly bought this for me a while ago, and even though I am trying to save it for special occasions I just can't resist and have been wearing it quite a lot recently. It is a gorgeous peachy-coral shade and I don't think I've seen another colour like it. I love this paired with my BB Lips from No.7!

MAC - Lady Danger

I swear after this one I will stop with the Orange colours! I think this is my all time favourite MAC lipstick. Perfect for a Summer night out, it is still a gorgeous statement colour but it is a nice variation on the classic Red lip that everyone seems to love. I think this is a lipstick that would look good on so many different skin tones and I would recommend you go and have a look at it next time you're at MAC!

MAC - Chatterbox

The most recent edition to my MAC collection and one I have found myself reaching for quite a lot throughout the Sunnier days. It is a gorgeous deep pink but I still consider it very wearable for everyday. It is an amplified finish so the colour you see is the colour you get on your lips. I love this paired with Well Dressed blush from MAC for an everyday look!

Revlon Lip Butter - Lollipop

And for the days where I'm not feeling in the mood for a lipstick but I still want some colour on my lips I have been reaching for Lollipop! I love the formulas of the Revlon Lip Butters, they are so lightweight on the lips but still moisturising while giving your lips some colour. Lollipop is a gorgeous fuchsia pink which can be lightly applied for a wash of colour or built up to be more a opaque colour!

So there you have it, those are my top five lip products for the Summer months! I hope you enjoyed!

Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer

Hello! If you read my Benefit Stay Flawless Event post the other week, you will know that I was very kindly given a full size Stay Flawless Primer*, so I thought I would review it for you!

Benefit describe this primer as a makeup magnet to lock onto foundation for 15 hours. It comes in a stick which you are meant to apply directly onto your face - I wasn't sure I liked the idea of that at first but it is actually quite nice to apply! I just sweep a little onto my face and then blend it with my fingers. It feels so refreshing and light on the skin which makes it so easy to apply and blend!

I then apply my foundation immediately over the top. I can definitely tell a difference between applying foundation over this compared to my regular Laura Mercier primer. I can feel my foundation almost sticking onto this primer which makes it a little more difficult to blend, but not much! I like to spend a while buffing my foundation in and I can't spend as long when I use this primer as my foundation sets quicker. I have been using my YSL Touche Eclat foundation recently with this and I do feel it looks a little thicker and heavier as it dries so quickly onto the primer, but it's definitely not too bad!

This primer definitely helps my makeup last longer! I still use a setting spray and powder as this primer doesn't help with oily skin at all, however it really helps keep my makeup on! By the end of the day my face does look shiny but my makeup has not budged at all which I am really impressed about. 

I would definitely recommend this! Even though it makes applying foundation a little more difficult, it's not enough to worry about and it really makes up for it by keeping my foundation on all day! I honestly don't think this is something I would have bought myself as I didn't like the idea of it being in a stick, however I really do like it now.

The Benefit primer is available here for £24.50. It isn't released onto counters until June 29th!

I would love to know what you think of this!

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Meet My Advertisers | June

Hello! Today I am going to introduce you to my lovely June advertisers! This month I thought I would let my advertisers write about their blogs for you so I really hope you enjoy reading :)

All of the links to these blogs are below and I am sure it would make the girls days if you pop over and say hello!

Dippy Writes

Hey guys, my name's Albertine and I'm a 19 year old psychology student from London.  My blog is mainly a beauty one but I occasionally throw in a few lifestyle and fashion posts for good measure :). I also do YouTube videos, with my most recent being a look around how I store my makeup.  Please do take a look at my blog and let me know if you do! All my links are above, I hope you enjoy! 

Twitter

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Curl and Pearls

Hey everybody, I write fashion, lifestyle and beauty reviews/posts over at curlandpearls.blogspot.co.uk. I have made a few changes to my blog over the last week or so, so I’d love for you to have a look and let me know what you think.

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Callie Rose

Hello! I'm Callie Rose and I blog over at cllrs.blogspot.co.uk where you'll find beauty reviews, lifestyle posts and the occasional outfit post. I originally started watching YouTube videos and was going to get up my own channel but I cringe at the sound of my voice! So I decided to start a blog instead. If you like all things beauty, lifestyle and the odd fashion post then come on over and say hi :) I'm also on instagram, bloglovin and twitter!

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I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and have found some fab new blogs to read!

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Guest Bloggers!

Hello! In just over one week I am off on a family holiday! I am going to be away for 2 weeks so I thought this would be a great opportunity to have some guest posts on my blog.

I am happy to have a variety of posts so whether you are a beauty blog or not, feel free to email me!

If you would be interested in writing a guest post for my blog then please email me by Saturday 15th June. In your email could you please let me know what you are thinking to guest post about and also you blog link.

beautybeckyblog@gmail.com

I will be looking for around 7 guest bloggers so if I would like you to guest post I will get back to you by Sunday 16th June to let you know. I will then need the guest post emailed to me by Wednesday 19th June so I can schedule them all! Could you please make sure any photos you use for your posts are nice and clear as I like them to be extra large :)

I really hope some of you are interested in guest posting as I think this will be so fun! You will hopefully get some new readers and my blog will have some lovely guest posts! :)

I hope you are all having a wonderful day and enjoying this sunshine!