[Review] Shiseido Pureness Skincare Range

As I was running out of my Clinique 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' and the 'Clarifying Lotion 2' I decided to try a new skincare range as I was worried about using an anti-ageing product at the age of 20. Many people have said that you shouldn't use and don't need to use anti-ageing products until your late 30s as it can cause your skin more damage in the long-term however the other side of the arguement says that the younger you start to use anti-ageing the better. I've tried researching if there is any difference between ageing-prevention and anti-wrinkle/anti-ageing but I gave up. I found it is much easier to just buy something else.

My cousin went to Hong Kong so I took this opportunity and asked him to get me 3 Shiseido Pureness products which are MUCH cheaper in Hong Kong then in the UK. I went onto House of Fraser and John Lewis websites' to see how much the whole range would be from the Shiseido 'Deep Cleansing Foam', 'Balancing Softener', 'Moisturizing Gel-Cream' and the 'Pore Minimizing Cooling Essence' and it came up to about £95? But my cousin got 3 of the products (minus the cleanser as I'm still using my Clinique one) for £45! By the way I have combination skin.

First up is the balancing softener. I found that one pump was enough for my face and it left my skin feeling really soft. The smell reminds me of baby wipes which may not be for everyone. I don't think this product is for me as my face doesn't really feel clean enough after using it and I'm not too sure about it balancing blemish-prone skin as my skin seems to have gotten worse but then I am use to using much more harsh toners.

The second product is the moisturizing gel-cream which is suppose to be for combination-normal skin types. Now my skin was getting really dry for some reason and this was exactly what I needed! A little goes a long-way, I use it at night and it hydrates my skin perfectly. Initially I loved this product however I have found that a couple of red bumps that develops into spots have popped up on my face >_< They are horrible! At first I thought my skin was getting worse due to my hormones and it being that time of the month but now I think it is the cream. I have been using this cream for 2 weeks and I've gotten more red bumps!

The last product is the pore-minimizing cooling essence. When I tested it out on the back of my hands it left my skin cool and matte so I thought it'd work great but having used it morning and night for a couple of days I found that it made my pores even worse. I thought I owed it a real chance so I done a real test by steaming my face and releasing all my pores on my nose, cleaned it with cold water to close the pores then I used the essence... When the essence had dried I found that it had filled up all my pores again! Now it is sitting on my desk useless.

Overall I won't be repurchasing any of the products in this range. The Pureness range is suppose to deal with shine, imperfections and dryness, I think they have the dryness and shine part nailed down but in terms of imperfections it is nowhere near. I am seriously contemplating buying Clinique's 'Superdefense SPF25 Age Defense Moisturizer' again because whenever my skin is acting up I always go back to Clinique... I like using this moisturizer because I find it moisturises my skin without it making it too oily and it also keeps my blemish-prone skin under control, the fact that it is an anti-ageing product is my downfall. What made me ignore that fact was that it had SPF25 in which I thought great! It's protecting my skin aswell but then I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swftzB3O9iU

Yeah.. So after more research my next venture will be Benefit's b.right! Radiant range.

[Review] GlossyBox - July Box

Today I was abruptly woken up by the postman at a time way that was way too early for me but I soldiered on because I knew it was my GlossyBox finally arriving! (And plus the other people in the house know its a package for me so they wouldn't open the door for me, hmpf). I originally ordered back in May but unfortunately the June box was sold out so I had to wait for the July one, like many others. Anyhow this was what I was presented with:

Even the outside packaging is cute. Inside:

Pretty pink box.

Finally the 5 products included were:

• Ciate Nail Enamel in Skinny Jeans - Which is an electric blue and not a colour I would normally buy but maybe it will look good on nails, I'll see;
• Illamasqua Powdered Metal in Ether - Hmm lol interesting name but somewhat off-putting, I mean metal? From what I understand it is a highlighter that can be buildable depending on the effect you want;
• Orla Kelly Eau de Parfum - Cute summer perfume sample and it isn't too sweet, bonus;
• Ultra Sun Face 30 - Sun protection cream that can be used on face! Perfect for summer, however it is an 'anti-ageing formula' and that is not what I am looking for.. Yet;
• Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil - I was totally perplexed with this product, it is a body oil that aims for 'more elastic, hydrated, smooth and supple skin', again an anti-ageing product I won't be using for a couple of years. But slathering oil on your body? I'm not a big fan of that either.

All in all I'm quite disappointed with my first box, would of liked more make-up and less anti-ageing products but I guess this is kind of hit & miss as there is no customization option. I still like the concept though and will carry on my subscription for next month as £10 is a good price. If you still don't know about GlossyBox:

"With the GlossyBox you receive the most interesting beauty products and latest make-up trends every month directly to your home. Each GlossyBox contains five selected luxury product miniatures. The product range is diverse, ranging from a luxury lipstick to a trendy hair care product from a cutting edge brand." - http://www.glossybox.co.uk

Another year.. Another birthday

As of yesterday I am officially no longer a 'teen'. I feel old, people around me obviously say no you're not! But if they think back to their 20th they were probably freaking out as well. Anyways I had a little BBQ with the family on Wednesday and was careful not to over-stuff myself like the usual BBQ's we have. At the end of the day I usually feel sick and bloated because I had eaten so much. Then on Thursday I went out to dinner at Inamo with the girls in an attempt at a sober birthday but then when we finished it was still quite early so we tried to look for a decent (cheap) bar. However all of them had shut already so we just went into a club and surprisingly it was quite live for a Thursday night out so that was good. Only stupid thing is at the end of the night I was waiting for a bus. That was never coming because it had already ran the last one like 4 hours before, I only realised after like 40 minutes standing there like a doughnut.

Thanks S.H, L.L, M.N, S.H, T.L, R.T <3