Lush-Skincare

Lush is notoriously known for there bath delights, however I've recently switched up my skincare routine to these natural products. My skin is combination to oily and prone to acne so I thought by using vegan products my skin may stop breaking out so much. I've tested all these products for over 30 days to make sure there effective FOR MY SKIN. However, these may not work for you, but you can always see a doctor and the workers at lush are all so nice and helpful that you'll be able to see the products most suitable for you.

 

 

The first product I've talked about so many times, but it's still one of my favourites and that's herbalism. It's a face and body scrub that can be used daily. It's good for removing dead skin cells, however it's also gentle on the skin and leaves it smooth. 

 

 

I then use a toner, I use the Eau Roma water which smells like lavender and is so refreshing on the skin. It hydrates and can be used after cleansing or just when you want to refresh your face. 

 

I then finish with a moisturiser. The one I use is called celestial and is specially formulated for sensitive skin. This hydrates my skin really well and leaves it smooth and supple. The formula is light on your skin, however I only a apply a small amount as it can make my face oily if you apply too much. 

 

 

I'm currently trying some new lush products on my skin to see which ones I prefer. Before making up your mind make sure to trial products for a minimum of 30 days so you recieve all the benefits.

Not a Breakfast Person?

I'm no breakfast person, but I can't resist smoothie bowls! And yes they do actually taste good-there not just used for Instagram themes. I used frozen mango and raspberries, a banana and a little orange juice, add as little as you can to achieve an ice cream consistency. You can add toppings such as nuts, coconut flakes, seeds and fruit or you can leave it plain. It's such a good way to start your day (that rhymed) and gives you energy and all that other nutritional stuff! Enjoy...and you can always scrape off the seeds and healthy things after you've taken an Instagram photo.

 

Pick Pink Triangl Bikini Dupe

  This amazing dupe from pick pink is practically identical to the triangl bikinis, however for a fraction of the price. I got mine in the colour blue crush for €25 from a stall in Barcelona.

It is made from neoprene (similar to scuba material) and is of a high quality, it has a clasp at the back and adjustable straps.

The top is a bright blue, neyon yellow and white and the bottoms are a blue and white.

This bikini is comfortable and retains its shape, as there is wire in the top. However, in order to take care of the bikini and stop the colours from bleeding you should hand wash it in cold water.

Check out the Pick Pink website to see many more beautiful bikinis here.

Beauty Favourites

I'm currently in Barcelona again and because the weather is hotter, I've switched up some of my makeup and skin care products. Here are some of my favourites!

 

MAC Prolong Wear Concealer-This product has a high coverage and is perfect for covering blemishes and dark circles, its lightweight and isn't cakey on your face and blends well using a brush, sponge or your ring finger. I'm in the shade NC30 and would purchase another lighter colour to highlight if it wasn't for the price (£17.50).  A cheaper alternative is the collection lasting perfection concealer, which you can buy for £4.19 from superdrug, it gives the same amount of coverage, but I feel that its harder to blend and can look cakey.

MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation-I find that this product gives a sheer to medium coverage and is very lightweight and perfect for the summer time. It makes you feel that you aren't wearing any makeup but it evens your skin tone by hiding redness and the look of blemishes. I have mine in the shade NC40, which is slightly darker than my skin tone, but I'm going to tan in the sun. This costs £22.00 and can also be used to set foundation/concealer for extra coverage.

Lush Herbalism Face & Body Cleanser-I purchased this once again from lush for £6.75 and have already written about it on my empties post, click here to read it.

Benefit They're Real Mascara in Beyond Blue-This product lengthens and separates my lashes so well and I thought that by having it in blue it would be perfect for the summer months as it adds colour to your look without being to bold. This also is a good way of skipping eye shadow but still having colour on your eyes.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer-This product is great for adding a natural glow and really brings out a tan, it can also be used to contour and extenuate your cheekbones and high points of your face. I like to brush it over my temples and cheek bones to give me a more defined look.

& Other Stories Chiffon day Cream-This cream is gel based and light on the skin. Its perfect for oily skin as it matifies your face and keeps your face smooth and supple. I use it under my makeup as it keeps me from getting too oily throughout the day.
  

Healthy Breakfast-Smoothie Bowl

These smoothie bowls aren't just healthy, but there tasty, colourful, fun to make and definitely instagram worthy!

 

What you'll need:

• Banana
• Frozen Berries
• Almond Milk/Juice
• Yogurt for thickening (optional)
• Toppings e.g granola, chopped fruit, shredded coconut
• Blender I used a nutri-bullet

Firstly, I put my frozen berries and banana in my nutri-bullet and then gradually added in my liquid, this can be almond milk, a type of juice, coconut water or just tap water, whatever you have or prefer. Remember, the smoothie is supposed to be a thick consistency, which you can eat with a spoon, so add yogurt to thicken if need be.

 

Next, pour your smoothie into a bowl and you can start decorating it, I used chopped banana, blueberries, granola, mixed berries, sunflower seeds, almonds and mixed goji berries.

 

Have fun creating your healthy smoothie bowls and make sure to show me any of your creations, my social media can be found in my contact page.

Want Clearer Skin?

By combining exercise, healthy eating and a range of products costing lots and lots of money you can defiantly achieve flawless looking skin. But, I don't like exercise, healthy eating or spending money (my own money anyways), so I've come up with a few simple ideas to get clearer skin quickly.

Beauty Sleep

Personally this is an easy one for me, by getting your beauty sleep, preferably 8-10 hours a day, your skin has time to replenish itself and repair broken skin.

Hydrate

Drink lots of water-this can hydrate and clear your skin and its also good for you. By using cute water bottles or something like a mason jar, it can encourage you to drink more water.

 

Aspirin

Crush aspirin and add a drop of water to create a solution, then add to the infected area after it has been cleaned and wipe off after 5-10 minuets. This will reduce the size and redness of spots.  

 

Swim

By going swimming with your friends you can get fit, have a good time and get rid of spots. The chlorine in swimming pools will help dry out your spots. Remember to moisturize afterwards.

 

I wish you all the best with clearing your skin, and I've also written another post about avoiding acne click here to read it.

 

Empties

I've noticed over the past month that a lot of my makeup and skincare products have run out, so I've decided to write mini reviews on all the products that are now empties, telling you whether you should buy, or say goodbye, to these products.

Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner by Simple-This was the first ever toner I used on my skin about 3 years ago and I continue to like it as it is effective on very sensitive skin which I have. Its very soothing and removes left over makeup on your face and oils. However, I don't like it for removing eye makeup as it doesn't remove all of it and can be painful when it gets in your eyes (as any product would). I would re-purchase this product as its also very affordable and is from a drugstore/high street brand.

Stay Matte Primer by Rimmel- I liked this product as its good to put under foundation to give it a more smooth and flawless finish. I purchased this for £8.99, which in comparison to other primers is good, but I found that it didn't erase the look of my pores that well.

 

PrimeTime by bareMinarals- I got a tester of this primer and wouldn't purchase the full version, as babyskin by Maybelline is a great dupe and cheaper alternative for this product, saying this it does make your skin silky smooth and reduces the appearance of your pores.

 

Porefessional by Benefit- I really like this product, under my makeup and on its own, since its tinted and provides the slightest bit of coverage and defiantly erases my pores. But, it is on the rather pricy side.

 

Witch Naturally Clear Mattifying Moisturiser-I've already re-purchased this product, as I really like the fact that its effective on oily skin, and that it contains natural ingredients. I use it daily in the morning before and makeup and at night after I've cleansed my face.

 

Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation 103 Ivory-I really really liked this product and will defiantly be repurchasing it, as it made my skin look really glowing and healthy. However, it can make you look glittery, which personally I don't mind, but I know some people don't like that. For the price, it is one of the best drugstore/high street foundations I've used.

 

Clean and Clear Morning Energy-This product was effective at first at removing excess sebum and dead skin cells, however started breaking me out, as it spread my acne, so I wont be repurchasing this. But, for the lucky ones with clear skin the product would be much better for you as it gently exfoliates your skin with micro-beads.

 

Herbalism by Lush-I honestly went through this product in a months time and loved it so much, it exfoliates your skin and instantly improves the look of your complexion, reducing redness. I'm defiantly going to purchase the larger size next time.

 

Garnier Micellar Water-I love this product for removing all my makeup and its so easy to use,which I really like.

 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer-I know everyone loves this product, however I hated it. It is really heavy on the skin and made me look really cakey. I also found it really hard to blend and it made my skin look really blotchy and un even.

 

Zoella Creamy Madly Dreamy-The packaging for this product is so pretty and just because its Zoella I had to buy it, for more information and a more in-depth review go to my Zoella Beauty post.

 

bareMinerals Original SPF Mineral Foundation in Medium Beige-I love this product, especially in the summer as it improves the look of your complexion and is so light on your skin, its as if your wearing no makeup at all. Its very natural and has a sheer to medium coverage. You can also cover blemishes with a concealer brush to be more precise and to achieve more coverage.

 

BabyLips in Hydrate by Maybelline- I'm actually quite proud that I managed to finish a whole lip balm, but this product isn't very special. It doesn't really work that effectively and I think its slightly overacted, but I don't blame people as the packaging is so cute,

 

Eucerin Dermo Purifier Cleanser-This cleanser is especially for people with oily, acne prone skin, which is exactly what I have. It removes all excess oil, sebum and makeup, which is so easy as you only need to use one product. I use this daily in the morning and night and its gradually clearing up my pimples and spots.

 

Sleek Eyeliner in Black-I didn't like this product very much, despite being easy to use, as its in pen form. Since, the formula was very watery and didn't stay throughout the day. The colour wasn't very pigmented and I much prefer the Rimmel scandal eyes liquid eyeliner.

SheInside-American Apparel Tennis Skirt Dupe

I love American Apparel, but I don't quite like the price tags as much. I've always wanted one of there staple tennis skirts, but there sold for around £45. I was trying one on in there stores, but before I bought it I found a website called Sheinside selling them for £13! Its available in white, black, navy and lilac, and the quality is just as good. However the sizing is different to American Apparels, as they come up a lot smaller. I ordered the white skirt and it arrived about 1 week later. The website is safe to use and there are loads of amazing clothes to find and buy.

Happy shopping!

  

How I Edit My Instagram Pictures+Keeping Up A Theme

I've had this requested a lot on my Instagram and if your not following me already its @libertybourke (lets be honest this post is a total self promo for Instagram). I am way too obsessed with Instagram and feel like I've said Instagram way to many times already, but it seems to be a trend to have a good 'theme' or 'feed'. My feed reflects who I am and has pictures of everything I see, and usually everything I eat...To me a feed or theme is a collection of photos that compliment each other. Its like having a family of photos that all work together, but are individually different. I feel like I'm turning Instagram into something really deep and complicated.
 

First of all you have to take a high quality photo, which is all to do with the lighting, I take all my photos on my iPhone and use the brightness tools (you can do this by focusing the camera and scrolling up or down).

Next its all about picking a good filter and using the right editing features, some of my favourite apps to use are:

-Afterlight (£0.69)

-VSCOcam (FREE, but have to download filters(some filters are FREE too))

-Facetune (£2.99)

-Rookie(FREE)

I always use VSCOcam, especially because your photos are saved to a grid so you can see what your Instagram will look like before you've posted it. Once I've chosen a photo I'll choose the HB2 filter (which you have to download) and I'll change the intensity to around 7 or 8, the darker the picture the lower the intensity. Then I will fade the picture to +6. Depending on the photo I'll change the brightness and saturation, but I don't use these features all the time.

 

Factune-Good for changing the colour(tones) of things in photos, can smooth skin and can defocus and blur photos to a good standard.

Afterlight-Like VSCOcam with a range of filters, my favourite is russ.

Rookie-Range of filters, light leaks and textures for free, my favourite filters are mild, yuki and dusk.

I hope you liked this post I know its a bit different, comment your Instagram below if you want me to check it out and follow. Some of my favourite feeds are: @madisenrosebeauty1 @thatsojack @drumaq @lovelaurenelizabeth @arose1860 @suedebrooks @jennxpenn @claudiesulewski @inkawilliams and of course the one and only @conniexblackman!

The Worlds Most Powerful Facial

I've tried this facial a few times and it's nothing like anything I've tried before. Whilst it dries on your skin you can feel your skin pulsating. The mask is a clay which you can mix with water or raw apple cider vinegar and is 100% natural calcium bentonite clay. It is designed to deep cleanse your skin and remove impurities and oil from your pores. It is called Indian healing clay from the brand Aztec Secret.

  

Firstly, I use a plastic bowl (can be any non-metal bowl) to mix two parts clay to one part water, and I stir this until a paste is formed. At first it will appear lumpy, however you can add more liquid/clay to form a smooth consistency. 

  

Next, I paint it on to my face with a makeup brush until I have an even layer. Be careful and avoid contact with your eyes.

I then wait 15-20 minutes or until the mask is completely dry and then wash it off with warm water. If you have delicate skin I'd recommend leaving the mask on for around 10 minuets instead. 

As the mask is drying your skin will feel extremely tight and it will probably be hard to move your mouth. It is also normal for your eyes to look strange whilst the mask is drying, they are only like this because your skin is being pulled.

After you've removed the mask it is normal for your skin to be slightly red, and it would have returned back to normal within half an hour. 

You can use this mask for any area of the skin as an acne preventer, clay baths, foot soaks and for knee packs (chilled clay). 1lb of the clay will make 10-15 facials which you can use once a week.

Real Techniques Brushes-Review



 

Real Techniques has always had such amazing reviews and I've seen so many youtubers and bloggers using these brushes, so I really wanted to try them out. I purchased the core collection for £20.99 at Superdrug. The brushes are 100% cruelty free and are made of taklon bristles, which are ultra-plush with soft fibres and smoother than most synthetic brushes.

 

 

The brushes themselves are light, mostly due to their aluminium handles and fit in your hand well. They are all reasonably small and have flat bases. 

 

 

They also come in a case, which makes them easy to travel with and transport.

 

 

 

Detailer Brush-This is such a small brush which I use for small blemishes and imperfections on my skin, however prefer it for eye shadows, especially the inner corners of my eyes to brighten them.

 

 

 

Pointed Foundation Brush- Honestly, I don't like this brush, as its way to small to apply foundation. the only thing I use it for is to blend concealer under my eyes. It is a flexible brush that could also be used to cover blemishes.

 

  

 

Buffing Brush-I use this brush to apply powder to my face and mineral foundation, I really like this brush to apply bronzer and blush too, however its isn't for precise contouring, more of an all over glow. It can also be used for applying foundation and I find it similar to the expert face brush also in the real techniques collection. Overall this is one of my favourites in the core collection.

 

 

 

Contour Brush-I love this brush for applying bronzer, as its small enough to fit in the hollows of your cheekbones making them look much more defined. It also blends the product really well into your skin, giving you a flawless looking finish.

#OOTD

I'm currently in love with this outfit and its perfect for spring and summer, however can easily be adapted with tights and a warm cardigan for our delightful English weather. I hope everybody had  a great Easter and spent it with those you love...and chocolate!

 

 

Shorts-Urban Outfitters

 

 

Kimono-Bershka

 

 

 Top-Berskha

Necklace-Forever 21

 

 

Bikini-Primark