Avon Clearskin Clear Emergency - Cream Cleanser, Daily Astringent & Instant Spot Treatment

My skin has been terrible recently, like really bad. IVF treatment, the recent heat wave and a slap dash skin care routine is no doubt to blame. I have been getting a lot of blocked pores recently and also those small pesky under the skin pimples, I needed something to combat the problem and fast.

In a desperate bid to find something on an evening when I was throwing a bad skin paddy (we've all had them) I routed through my stash and found some Avon products. My mum had bought me these as she occasionally does, she feels like she is genetically to blame for my bad skin so sometimes turns up at my house with beauty goodies (bless her). However on this occasion I believe that her Avon selling friend had convinced her to purchase in bulk for either a freebie or discount, in turn I ended up with the excess produce.

Nevertheless I am glad that these items found there way into my beauty draw, they have really helped me get out of a skin pickle. I have never bought Avon before, in fact I would never normally even consider Avon because it seems a bit, well, old? I mean my mum buys it so that says it all really, its a safe option.

However I take back these comments as after using these I am actually quite impressed. I started off using the Clear Emergency Intensive Cream Cleanser followed by the Blemish Clearing Daily Astringent. The cleanser has a fairly thick texture, a bit mask like in fact, but once water is added it goes creamy/milky & also slightly chalky. This has a very cooling/tingly sensation, you really feel like this is getting to work on the skin which personally I really like. Next I used the Blemish Clearing Daily Astringent to remove any last traces of cleanser & oil. This is exactly what it says - an astringent so it is quite strong and contains alcohol, once you smell it you will know! it does do the trick and leaves the skin feeling really clean.

After the first night my husband commented on how clear & bright my skin looked - he said this without ANY prompting and he did not know of my new regime. That is all I had to hear to be sold on this!

The next night I also started using the spot treatment too, which helped to reduce those horrible under the skin pimples. They did not actually go though, I think this is better for whopping on the surface staring right at ya kind of spot.

Now all of these contain salicylic acid (a chorus of YAY from the bad skin sufferers) however I find excessive use of products containing this can start to have a drying effect - especially combined with alcohol like with the astringent. These few Avon products are good for those few days where your skin needs an extra cleansing zit zapping hit, so they (surprisingly) have a place in my emergency box.

Whats even better is that these are cheap - they are on offer at the moment and you can get all three for £6.75!!! shocking

Estée Lauder Cello Shots - Pure Color Cheek Rush Review - Pink Patent Fresh Sheer

When Estée Lauder launched their new range of Cello Shots cheek colours it ticked a number of boxes for me - pinky red shades - check, lightweight - check, buildable - check, all of which made these new blushes appeal. I went and made my purchase from John Lewis for £24.00 (see here) which I think is reasonable for an Estée Lauder blush.

There are four shades to choose from, Hot Fuse (red), Pink Patent (light pink), Techno Jam (plum) & X-pose Rose (darker pink). I chose Pink Patent as the others looked quite dark, however now I have found out how sheer they are I would like to experiment with the other shades too.

I love the packaging, the pump top makes for mess free application. I found that if I did a slow pump more would come out than necessary (shown as a squiggle in the pic below) so I tend to use one quick pump on each cheek.

As the name suggests it is sheer, when it first comes out it looks quite strong but once blended on the skin it leaves a light sheer flush of colour. In my opinion this is like a cheek stain, once on its not going anywhere! which means you have to be quick with your application, like real quick because it dries fast. I found the best way to apply this is to pat the gel onto the skin, I think using a brush would be too abrasive and the initial moist texture with the brush could lift off some foundation.

I usually wear this with just one layer, but it also looks nice built up into a stronger colour. However if your looking for a strong colour I think these would be too sheer (although I can not comment on all shades as I have only tried this one)

Overall I like this blush, seeing as it acts like a stain it is suitable for oily skin as it stays put all day. I was initially concerned as other sheer products I have tried were a bit on the creamy/greasy side which is not suitable for my skin at all.

Have you tried these? what are your thoughts?

MAC Tropical Taboo Colour - Time to Tango & Orpheus

One of my favorite things to hear coming out of my husbands mouth on his return from a business trip is "I'm in duty free, what do you want?" this sends quivers of joy through my bones, duty free and I can pick what ever I want (well almost). However most of the time this is followed by "Quick i'm boarding in 20 minutes" which means I have to act fast. 

Even though my husband is a seasoned traveler, I am never prepared for this moment. a quick flush of "Quick what do I want /need" is quickly followed by an impulse plump. 

On this occasion I knew exactly what I wanted, whilst on my last visit to MAC I swatched a few items from The Tropical Taboo range and was quickly besotted with the beautiful swatches on the back of my hand. 

A text quickly went over to the other half detailing exactly what I wanted `Mineralise eyeshadow in Time to Tango & an eye pencil in Orpheus please x'

I have to say, it was quite a difficult task to pick a shade out of the eyeshadows, all are a beautiful blend of pinks,purples, blues & greens. In the end it was down to Dare to Bare and Time to Tango, but out of the two the purple and gold blend of Time to Tango really appealed. This can be worn as a sheer shimmer or a more intense smoky colour, both work well as this shadow is really buildable.

I have never tried an eye pencil from MAC before so it was about time i had a dabble. I thought the brown/gold shade of Orpheus would work well with Time to Tango and also with a few other pallets that I have. This pencil is very soft and easy to blend, it is actually darker on the skin than I though it would be and would look good for a smokey eye look. I have used this to line the eye with Time to Tango on the lid and they make a great duo.

Overall I am loving the colours in this range, if you a fan of a bit of shimmer then I would suggest you take a look at the mineralise shadows in this range (and the blush looks great too)

Other items that I am loving are the lipsticks in Lady at Play & Midnight Mambo, however both were sold out! ah well there's always next time...

A Week In Pictures

New laptop - Illamasqua nails - Officially unemployed - Leaving flowers from work - Lip products in my handbag - Moji - Maggie - Wizard of Oz tray - Watering my flowers 

This is a quick round up of the week in pictures. I am now officially unemployed and can blog way more woo hoo! so you will be seeing a lot more of me 

These pics are from my instagram, I have just started using it again, if you fancy following my account is WKDN85WKDN

Don't forget to enter my Benefit giveaway, you could win the Confessions of a concealaholic set - click the picture on the sidebar to take you to the give away post.

Everyday Foundation

A plain canvas is where every artist starts before they create their masterpiece. The same applies with us mere mortals trying to compose art on our faces, or at least look half decent as we leave of a morning. But unlike that of an artist, to get to a blank canvas takes time and products, lots of products. Primers, foundation, concealers, powders are to name but a few, not to mention all the brushes & tools (in my case trowel) involved before we can even think about blusher. It’s not exactly the fun part of applying makeup but in my opinion its one of the most important – get it wrong and boy do you (and the world) know it.

Getting the right colour, coverage & finish for my skin is an ongoing battle, just when I think I have got it nailed, my hormones decide to protest and throw a spanner in the works. Here is what I currently use, however there's always more room in that makeup bag for more miracle workers...

MAC Prep & Prime Fortified Skin Enhancer - Neutralize -  I really like the finish that this primer gives, it evens out skin tone and makes pores less visible. As it is tinted, it works well on its own with a touch of concealer for that natural `i'm not wearing make up look' I wouldn't say it holds make up in place but it gives an even complexion ready for foundation. Having oily skin I was concerned that this would be too illuminating, but its not, it just adds a little glow.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - Bone 17 -  this is the best foundation I have used to date. The full coverage is just what I need at the moment, it covers all imperfections and stays in place all day. The texture is light compared to other high coverage foundations I have used which makes application easy and buildable for full on coverage.

Garnier BB cream - Light - I was given this from a friend, I don't think I would have gone out and bought this but I have liked using it. I use this on days where I do not want to do my make up (Sunday!) but want to have light/natural coverage. I apply this all over my face and then use a little powder to set. To me this is like a tinted moisturiser, it doesn't particularly help to cover fine lines etc that BB creams claim to do.

MAC Select Coverup - NW20 - If you are looking for a concealer that will hide anything then I would suggest you try this! as mentioned earlier, my skin has not been great recently and this has really helped to cover those pesky spots. Only thing with this is that I always seem to squeeze out too much!

Benefit Fake-up Concealer - Light -  I use this under my eyes to cover dark circles, the combo of concealer & moisturiser/primer helps to avoid the creased eye look. It is very silky so easy to apply, a bit too easy because of its slippery texture! I was concerned it would slide off my face, but it stays in place all day. I find this is light reflecting so works well to disguise dark circles.

MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder Compact - NC20 - I bought this to use as a setting powder, with it being sheer it does not look too powdery. I use this by either patting it on with the applicator that came in the compact, this really fixes everything in place. Or by using a brush and applying a a few light sweeps, all depending on how I feel that day!

Soap and Glory Haul

I nipped into Boots at weekend to stock up on some much needed cleanser, I was literally scraping out empties for the last few days to collect enough cleanser to wash my face. As Soap and Glory is currently on offer (three for two) I decided to buy a few bits from the range. I ended up purchasing the Peaches and Clean Cleanser, The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Clear Here Moisture Lotion.

Firstly I have to comment on the new packaging, the new streamline and basic branding is a far cry from the tongue & cheek signature pink packets. But I have to say I actually like it, it gives a clean feel to the range and would sit well on any bathroom shelf, plus they havn't given up on the cheeky names. The reality is that the revamp is likely part of a cost down project, but I think they have done a good job, I particularly like the squeezy tooth paste tubes!

On to the purchases - Peaches and Clean Cleanser. I was drawn to this as it is aimed at clogged T-zones and is deeply purifying, this ticks boxes for me. This went quickly into the basket along with the Clear Here Moisture Lotion which is also aimed at T-Zone control.

On closer inspection at home, I noticed a few things on the packaging of both of these that pointed out that these were for younger skin, for example:

"A few pumps of peaches and clean of an evening (or morning if you have fallen asleep with your make up on)"

Now you would only go to sleep with makeup on as teenager right?  this was backed up by the undeniable statement of "analysed on a group of oil-afflicted teenagers" on the Clear Here moisturiser packaging.

It doesn't exactly make me feel great that I still have to use products aimed at teenagers, I was hoping I had moved on from that now. I wouldn't have bought them if I noticed that in the shop, after all if an anti ageing cream stated it had been "analysed on a group of flaky skinned OAP's" it wouldn't be accepted. However I didn't read the label properly so my bad.

After the first few uses of the Peaches & Clean, I already know I am not going to get along with this one! in my opinion it is far to creamy to help with blocked pores but I need to give this a proper go before I can comment fully. One thing I can say though is that it smells of peach schnapps - not a great idea for those hungover teens who have left their makeup on all night....

My first comments of the moisturiser is that it is light, fresh and mattifying. So far so good although I am not expecting to get much more out of it than that .

Lastly is the Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser which is so far my favourite out of the three. It smells lovely and removes all traces of make up, again so far so good. My only comment so far is that the cloth is way to abrasive, I am not sure if this is because my Liz Earl ones have been washed to death and have become all floppy (which I am comparing it too) it may well become softer after a few washes.

Overall a bit of a mixed bag! Have you tried any of these items? what are your thoughts on the new packaging?

A Week In Pictures

For sale in the blog shop (revamp soon!) - New bracelets - Soap & Glory haul - Glitter nails - What I used for the glitter nails - Lunch on a sunny day - PINK! - More cosmetics for sale in the blog shop - Flowers in bloom in the garden - Benefit giveaway - Om nommy treat - Snoozing Maggie - Snoozing Moji - Another nail pic - Primark outfit! - Suns out sunnies on - Maggie sunbathing - Beautiful flower from the garden

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