Neals Yard - Skin Care

I have very dry sensitive skin. I'm always having trouble with my skin on the side of my cheeks, I keep getting little bumps which are sometimes very painful. Within the past 9 months I have tried tons of products which have helped or made it worse. Products tried range from brands such as; Clinique, Liz Earle, Neutrogena, Olay, Dr Nick Lowe, Benefit, Loccitane, Amie, Nivea, Loreal, Simple and many more. However, I think I have finally found a routine that works for me. I went to Neals Yard, who sell organic natural products a couple of weeks ago and purchased this set. It consists of: Orange flower facial wash, orange flower water and Jasmine enriching face cream. This set cost £25. Check the website. http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/ Using these products have definately helped alot, In the morning I wash my face, tone and then lightly moisterise. There is also a sensitive range but the moisturiser wasn't rich enough for me. In the evenings I take off my eye make up with the olive oil and water mixture that I talked about in a previous post, then I remove my facial makeup with ultra comforting cleansing milk by L'occitane with a cotton round and then wash my face with the facial wash. I then apply heaps of moisturiser and thats it! For my eyes I switch between Origins youthtopia or Bobbi browns eye cream. I have had no breakouts and everyone is commenting on my skin, apparently I'm glowing. :) I will post a pic of my skin quite soon. Have you tried this brand? What do you think?

Superdrug Bargain Alert

I went to Superdrug a drugstore in the UK recently just browsing for candles, and a girl that worked there came up to me saying "thats 10p" I was like "what?? are you serious?" Then I picked up some more candles and a packet of tea light holders for 10p. Furthermore, I was searching through this bargain aisle and came accross hand sanitiser, hair mouse, false nails, nail whitener, nails inc base coat, soothing eye mask and some other stuff all for 10p each. They had like 3 sections in the 1 aisle, I also picked up some diamante headphones for 99p (cheesy I know, but its just the 1 rhinestone on each ear plug) I don't know if every Superdrug has this bargain aisle but its worth checking out. I'm currently so broke as we have just moved houses and have had to buy EVERYTHING fresh, so I really appreciate a bargain these days!

Comments & Update

Hello girls,

Just to say I "think" I have definately fixed my comment settings so you are now able to comment.. so sorry about the mix up!

I have just moved into my new house and currently do not have internet access, it will take about 10 days.. how will I cope? :( I am only able to access at work for the moment. I hope all of you are doing well and pampering yourself!

I am so excited as I have a new vanity area setup and hopefully by the time I have access to the internet I would have settled in and will be able to show you photos. My make up storage is so cute.. a clue as to where it's from?? Laura Ashley!!!

Will keep you updated as much as I can! xx

Olive oil & its uses!

Olive oil is one of the most nourishing oils, it can be used in so many different ways for different purposes.
I use it on my hair, body and eyes. Keep reading on to find out how.

Olive oil for the hair:

Get an empty spritzer bottle and fill 3/4 of the way with olive oil. Then add a quite a few drops of avocado oil and almond oil until the bottle is full and shake well before use. How do I use it? I pump a few drops of the mixture to the ends of my hair each night and comb through, if i'm feeling upto it I will also give myself a scalp massage.

Olive oil for the body:

I use the same mixture that I use for my hair and rub it into any dry areas such as, elbows & knees.

Olive oil for the Eyes: (As eye make up remover & lash growth product)

Get an empty bottle and fill it up 1/4 of the way with olive oil and 3/4 filtered mineral water, shake before use. This removes all of my eye make up very effectively, I have tried so many different branded products and some are way too harsh on my eyes. I actually like the MAC one but it can get a little expensive as I go through them very very quickly.

I then wash my face with a nice cleanser which removes all the oily residue, however the residue is actually beneficial as it helps eyelash growth. Dabbing a little olive oil to the eyelashes each night can really help.

You could even add a little to your facial moisturiser for the nightime as this will really penetrate the skin, however, I use rosehip seed oil by Neals Yard which is gorgeous. Finally, I only ever use olive oil for cooking :) A quick tip: Add some finely chopped dried red peppers, lemon juice, dried thyme, black pepper corns and a tiny pinch of salt to a bowl of olive oil and enjoy a scrumptious dipping sauce for your bread.

I hope that you girls try this out and make use of the wonderful olive oil.. let me know if you have any other ways of using it.

Earrings from Peru!

Oh my gosh! These are the most beautiful pair of earrings I have seen, one of my closest friends just came back from her travels and I was presented with this!
They are so delicate, so beautifully hand made. I want to make replicas! :)
And to top it off, it's cream which really stands out with brunettes and green - my fav colour! Spot on Emz!! Thank you.. xx

Face of the Night

Hello Ladies, sorry I have been away for a while.. we were looking for a flat and have
finally found one. We will be moving shortly, just waiting for admin. So... I'm going out this evening to the cinema to watch "my bloody valentine" it's a 3D film, cant wait to wear my oh so cool glasses :)
So here's my look for tonight, I recently dyed my hair Praline black by Movida after putting blonde highlights in it. I definately think that darker hair looks better with my colouring but think I will lighten for the summer.

I have also gone shopping, I got the Deluxe Revlon mirror which is amazing, I can actually see EVERYTHING! I also went to Space NK, I got some sale stuff and I have purchased 3 Barry M lip paints which are AMAZING. The formula is so smooth. I'm addicted.

MAC - Steamy & Club Eyeshadow!

This morning I was inspired by my shirt, I love the colour combination. I decided to wear Steamy on the inner half of my lid and Club on the outer and blended into the crease. I used Rice Paper to Highlight.

I used my Benefit Strut (Black) cream base to prime my eyelid, I saw the difference a dark coloured base made thanks to Lollipop26 as she brought it to our attention on her blog.

I don't wear anything on my lips or blush when I'm wearing colour on my eyes during the day. Just a dusting of bronzer. :)

Make Up & Fashion Questions & Answers!

I found the list of the following questions on Av's blog who found it on Laura's Bloggy Blog and I thought I would answer the questions too! :)



Make-up1) On average, for application of your typical day-to-day work/college make up, how long do you spend? I spend about 15 mins.



2) On average, for application of your going out/special make up, how long do you spend? I would say 30-45 mins, my eyes take so long sometimes.



3) If you were to be stranded on a dessert island, which 4 products would you want with you?Moisturising sun screen, Lip Gloss, Lipliner & face wash!



4) What beauty 'must haves' do you always carry in your handbag? BeneFit Concealer, Shiseido nude lipliner, MAC lipglass - underage, NARS Laguna bronzer, NARS Gina blush, mini brush set & NARS eyeshadow duo in Madrague.



5) Which drugstore brand would be your favourite? Bourjois!



6) High street or high end make up brands? High end!



7) On average, how long does it take you to get dressed/select your day-to-day outfits? Quite long if I haven't decided from the night before. I would say about 15 mins, I have to iron sometimes, then I have to think about styling - earrings, belt, what jacket I will wear etc..



8) On average, how long does it take you to get ready for a special occasion/night out? About 1.5 hours.



9) If you could only chose one item of clothing from your wardrobe, i.e jeans, which would be your favourite? I love my dresses, always makes me feel special - Love them!



10) What outfit gives you instant feel good factor? Figure hugging dress :)



11) Which shops do you favour? hmmm.. Zara, Karen Millen, All Saints, Topshop, Mango & Levis. I favour a whole lot more but can only afford to shop in these at the moment :)



12) High street or high end clothes? I would have to say high end as you get what you pay for, but sometimes prices are ridiculous - I always think about how much it would cost to make the garment, if theres a huge gap between how much it costs then I wont buy it just for the name.

Feel free to respond!

My Holy Grail Products!

Listed are my HG products. I cannot and will not ever be without these..

CONCEALER: BeneFit Boing & Bobbi Brown Creamy concealer

LIQUID FOUNDATION: Bobbi Brown moisturising foundation

POWDER: MAC mineralised MSF Natural

BRONZER: NARS Laguna

CREAM BRONZER: Bobbi Brown Dusty Mauve

BLUSH: BeneFit Benetint & NARS Gina

LIPSTICK: MAC Creme d'nude

LIPGLOSS: MAC Lipglass in Underage

LIPLINER: Shiseido (I don't know the name, same colour as my natural lips)

EYE PENCIL: BeneFit Eye bright.

EYE BASE: Urban Decay primer potion & Benefit lemon aid.

EYELINER: MAC fluidline blacktrack

EYESHADOW: MAC vanilla pigment, MAC rice paper, MAC humid, MAC paradisco

What are yours?

My sets on Polyvore

Here is a set that I have created on Polyvore, Polyvore is a site where you can import items from other websites or use the ones already uploaded on their site to create outfits. Polyvore is also a site to express creativity by creating artistic sets. I love it!

This is one of my favourite sets..



I was a huge Polyvore addict when I discovered this site 9 months ago, I was on it almost 24/7.
I have created countless sets. Here is the link to my sets if you wish to check them out.
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=59935

Below is my most popular set on Polyvore.

Matchy Matchy or Clashing?

Here's my look for today, I was wearing a green cardigan and couldn't resist my humid eyeshadow by MAC, I only added a little bit as I woke up super late this morning and was in a huge rush for work. I added humid all over the lid, woodwinked in the crease, naked lunch under the brow and just a touch of bio green on the inner corners. What do you think of matchy matchy? Do you prefer your eyeshadow to clash with your clothes?

The same thing applies to nail polishes, do you girls like your toes to match your finger nails or not? I generally like them clashing.. I dont remember the last time I made them match.. Let me know what you think.

Why is my username bubblegarm?

Well.. I chose the username bubblegarm because I was thinking bubble-gum then I thought no. then I thought of garm.. as in garms? garment, the clothes we wear.. and since im into fashion I thought bubblegarm was kinda cool, and so it stuck. :)

I LOVE NAILS INC!

I love the formula of these polishes, they go on so smoothly, have a beautiful shine/glaze and last for about a week and thats with doing the dishes!I have another collection of OPI, China Glaze, Revlon, Bourjois, Elf etc.. but I hardly ever touch them. Nails inc is much better in my opinion.

I also use their treatment oil, glass nail file and buffer. I adore them!!! My nails are so much stronger and grow quicker since I have started using this brand.

The nail polishes retail at £10.50 each... BUT!!!

My first nails inc purchase was from QVC at £20 for a collection of 5.
Then, I got a TSV (Todays Special Value) with a collection of 8 shades with an extra base and top coat, which was about £25
And then... I got the 4 shades that were free with Glamours December issue.
And I recently picked up a set of 4 for £10 from House of Fraser and then another set of 3 for £10.

All in all I have spent £65 on my collection... Bargain!

mmmm yummy shades :)

This is what I did to my nails last night.. I was bored. I applied a sheer pink all over, then applied a glittery red to the tips and then a black stripe above it. Do you like?

Smokey Eyes

I used the MAC holiday 2008 Smokey eyes palette for this look. I used gorgeous (silver) all over the lid, ambiance on the crease (dark grey) and carbon to intensify (black). I used Scant (cream) as highlight and on the inner corners. I also used my Benefit - eye bright pencil to really brighten the inner corners. I used MAC fluidline in blacktrack to line and topped off with YSL faux cils mascara which is my fav!

Paired with nude lips and a light dusting of Bronzer.

Perfume

Here is my current perfume collection, I try not to let it grow to big as I do not want it to go off. From Top to bottom & left to right;

D&G - Light Blue, L'occitane - Cherry Blossom, Shiseido - Zen, Calvin Klein - Euphoria, Britney Spears - Midnight Fantasy, Britney Spears - Fantasy, Benefit - Maybe Baby, Cerruti - 1881 & Vera Wang - Princess.

My favourites are the Cherry Blossom, it's so fresh and sweet, Euphoria is my ultimate night time scent, it's very dark, sexy yet sweet. Princess reminds me of vanilla, a nice day time scent. Both of the Britney Spears perfumes are AMAZING! I will keep buying, already on my second bottle of Fantasy! I also love The Light Blue, it's very fresh and light, another one I love but have ran out of is Davidoff - Cool water.