Review: Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum

Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum 30mls £48 50mls £68 100mls £110

Hey guys, I love trying out new skincare and I've been using this for about 2 months now so think it's time for a review. 

What they say: 

Clinique Smart Custom Serum.

 A serum that can change your skin’s future. Now there’s a custom serum smart enough to understand your skin’s past and change its appearance in the future. - Addresses the appearance of uneven skin tone, lines and wrinkles, firming, or radiance - For all ages, all ethnicity - Five years of research. Patented technology

What I say:

I used this not expecting much to be honest as aging isn't one of my main concerns but thought 'hey I'll just it as 'insurance' for my skin' if you like. After about a week of using this (on a night generally) I actually forgot to put foundation on - it wasn't till I finished my make up I realised I hadn't applied any base (VERY unlike me) I couldn't believe it my skin actually looked good enough to go foundation less! It must have been doing something. Then to top it off a few nights later after taking my make up off before bed and doing the whole skincare routine, I went to get into bed and my boyfriend said are you not taking your make up off before you go to bed!!?? What!! Now let me start by explaining first that he's very much your typical bloke and doesn't even notice when I change hair colour never mind not removing my make up before bed. I asked if he was joking and told him I'd just washed my face. He then said 'wow your skin looks really nice like make up' (very blokey thing to say). Well that comment alone sold this product to me and I will 100% be repurchasing after this runs out only I'll be going for the large size next time!  

This serum would be suitable for a lot of skin types. In particular I think this would be a fab starter serum for someone who doesn't know where to start in the world of serums as it targets each different personal skin concern. It 'knows' your skin and targets problem areas that you're not even aware of yet hence why this is a 'SMART' serum. I would work well under your usual moisturiser therefore it just slots right into your routine easily. I love the fact it targets a range of skin problems, it just makes it a multi tasker in it's own right.

The consistency is almost gel like and it instantly absorbs into the skin, I never notice a residue left on my skin which is perfect as I'm more on the oilier side, it does leave a nice velvety finish on the skin and would be suitable for all skin types. A very oily skin may want to skip using this on the mornings and just save for evenings but personally I've worn it under moisturiser and make up and it sat beautifully.

All in all I really recommend this serum and feel most skins would benefit from using this, if you have a few concerns you want to target and don't want to buy separate products then this is the serum for you, I also think this is just perfect for a persons first serum and it targets the majority of skin complaints.

There's no doubt that I'll be using this serum in for a long time and will certainly be stocking up. 

What do you guys think? Have you tried it?

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Skincare: Night routine

After a rest from blogging after having Sienna I have decided to come back into it, I was umming and ahhing whether to start it back up but in all honesty I really missed blogging for just blogging, you know what I mean? So here goes I thought my first post back should be a beauty one and since sleep has recently become so important to me I feel this post is quite relevant :)

We all know we should take our make up off at night and slap on some moisturiser and get some shut eye, right? Now, I know there will be loads of people out there that give their faces and swift wipe of a baby wipe and call it a night for their nightly routine - I'm here to try and convince you to stop doing that. Please. 

So here's my routine and what I'm using at the moment - if you want individual reviews of anything in particular let me know. 

Step One: Take that make up off - I'm using The Body Shop Chamomile Silky Cleansing Oil £10.00 at the moment. Even if you do nothing else, always remove your make up or sunscreen. If you just wash your face without  previously taking your make up off then it's just like getting in the shower with your clothes on - pointless. Take it off so you can actually cleanse your skin. You don't have to use anything fancy to remove it either. One of my favourite make up removers is Lush ultrabland cleanser used with a (clean) muslin or flannel - it's cheap and effective.  

Step Two: Cleanse - So yeah that's pretty much self explanatory really. After step one I cleanse my face. I'm not particularly loyal to any cleansing product (yet!) at the moment I'm using an origins cleanser which is really lovely actually - foams up nicely which I personally like although I know some people prefer cream cleanser which is fine. I like to use a muslin or flannel to wash my face at this point although sometimes I use it at step one instead - just to switch things up- I'm all about the spice of life. Origins Never A Dull Moment £18.50

Step Three: Exfoliate (sometimes) - Now I say sometimes as I don't always use a manual exfoliant but when I do this is the point in which I do it. By using a muslin or flannel in the previous steps you will be gently exfoliating every day bear in mind. Once a week/fortnight/whenever I can I will also do a face mask at this point. The two exfoliants I'm using at the moment are Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant £41.30 (although you can find it cheaper on sites like lookfantasic.com when they have offers so shop around) and Origins Modern Friction £33 pricey but so worth it. Another favourite is the Clinique Exfoliating Scrub £17

Step Four: Tone (sometimes) - Here I go with the sometimes again!.. I say sometimes because I generally don't tone if I've exfoliated manually as it's made my skin sensitive in the past so I'm wary of it now. I switch between toners and toning lotion type products where I feel necessary. At the moment I'm using Origins United State £18.50 at the moment but before that I was using Origins A Perfect World which was more of a lotion type product and it was gorgeous - I would have used this product after exfoliating as it was so gentle. I also love the Boots Botanics rose water toner, it's gorgeous - in fact I haven't used that in forever so I'm hoping it hasn't been discontinued.

Step Five: Serum/Oil/Treatment - Choose your poison and go for it. I'm a big fan of Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair so usually have a bottle of this one the go. Currently though I'm testing out the new Clinique serum and so far so good (watch this space for a review) if you're on treatment from the doctors or dermatologist here is where I'd apply it. 

Step Six: Eye cream - I like to plonk on eye cream after my treatment, I feel like the treatment might creep towards my eye area and give me some added boost lol. Am I the only one? I personally like to use eye cream as I wear contacts and I'm constantly touching my eye area so I'm convinced I'm going to have really bad wrinkles soon. I'm using the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream £32 at the moment - I will be doing a review on this soon as I've been using it for a while now. 

Step Seven: Moisturise - Wow Seven!? I didn't realise I did so much, although two of the steps are usually missed out at times. Does that make it any less long? Lol no? Ok. So, moisturising, this is  for me so important to get right for your skin. It's amazing how much difference a good moisturiser make  can do for your skin. I like to switch up the moisturiser and use different brands/formula's depending on what's going on with my skin. I've been using Khiels Skin Rescuer Moisturiser £29.50 and Neal's Yard Power Berry £23.75. I have used the Neal's Yard moisturiser for about 5-6 years now and it definitely my most repurchased cream, the Khiels cream is one that I bought in January and I alternate between the two. It's almost run out now after all this time so I would say its value for money too. 

Step Eight: Sleep! Oh yes sleep, sleep and sleep - get your monies worth out of those products and let them get to work. Eight hours of shut eye if you can please - easier said than done or what? 

So there you have my night time routine - it looks so long up here but it honestly takes me 5-10 mins max depending on what I'm doing, obviously a face mask takes longer.

What's your night time skin are routine? What are your must have products? 

Thanks for reading :)

Siobhan xxx

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Leeds Blogger Meet Up: Saturday 31st August 2013

This isn't actually outside the Leeds venue but a picture from google :) Source

On Saturday 31st August I had the pleasure of attending the Leeds Blogger meet up, which was my first meet as a blogger, so very exciting and nerve racking at the same time. The venue was the always chic Patisserie Valerie on St Paul's Street in Leeds and despite living in Leeds for my whole life and formally working very close to the venue, I got lost, so lost in fact that I was almost an hour late! Luckily for me there was another late comer in the form of Lauren who I met up with so it didn't feel quite as terrible turning up all wind swept and red cheeked! The weather didn't hold up as well as I hoped and wore sandals (rookie mistake!). 
This was my outfit of choice for the day:

It took me ages to peel myself out of a maxi dress to actually wear a skirt, as at the moment nothing in my wardrobe actually fits. Which means that my bump was on full display for all to see, I think it might be time to finally give in to maternity clothes! 

In the end I went for my French Connection T-Shirt and Skirt. Topshop Sandals. Topshop Blazer. DVF Bag. 

After catching my breath and ordering a drink (Tea, of course!) I started to relax and got chatting to some lovely bloggers. It was lovely speaking to like minded people and being around people who didn't find it odd to take pictures of tea and cake! 

Hayley did a great job of organising the meet up and managed to get loads goodies for us all to take home and try. Here's a sneak peak of the treats:

Expect some reviews to come up shortly of the products, I'm already really excited by a few of them.

Me and Bump!

Lauren enjoying her cuppa

My yummy Carrot Cake and Tea

Shortly after the treats arrived Hayley started a little prize draw and I was one of the lucky winners! My prize was the Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver (!) I was a very happy lady indeed. I can't wait to give them a try and will no doubt feature it at some point on the blog too. I'm already considering taking this to the hospital with me for after giving birth but my other half told me I was being ridiculous lol! What does he know anyway? So watch this space :)

Soon after everyone said their goodbyes and either went off for food or for shopping. I had to be on my way, but not before popping into the new Victoria's Secret store in Trinity Leeds and Harvey Nichols with Heather for a Nars Lip pencil in Bolero that I have had my eye on for a while, as you do! I will be doing a full review of the Nars Lip pencil but for the time being here it is:

While in Harvey Nichols we unsurprisingly bumped into a few of the other bloggers too who were making their indulgent purchases :) I saw Michelle pick up a gorgeous berry shade lipstick from MAC.

 All in all it was a lovely day and I would encourage everyone who has the opportunity to go to their local meet ups as scary as it may seem at the time. Everyone was really lovely and I'm looking forward to attending any future events now. 

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend? Has anyone else recently been to any meet up events? 

Siobhan xxx

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Review: Smashbox Light Primer

I wanted to do a review of a primer that I use quite regularly - the Smashbox Light Primer. I don't tend to wear primer everyday as can find it too much however there are times when certain foundations need it to up the staying power or if I need my make up to last longer than average e.g. a long day at work! I have a few different primers and actually I don't have a favourite I just usually grab whatever is to hand lol - but I have found some are better than others for certain things - I will be doing a comparative post on my primers soon actually :)

Smashbox claim that this primer is oil free and is 60% water base making it ideal for oily, acne prone or sensitive skin. The formula has special oil absorbers to ensure you have a smooth and matte appearance all day. It contains light diffusers to minimize imperfections and even vitamin C and peptides to help even out skin tone and help smooth skin long term too. Sounds promising!

I cant say if I think its doing anything to even out tone long term as I don't imagine using it here and there is really enough to see a difference and personally that's not what I'm looking for a primer to do anyway! I'm looking for a primer to help my make up stay in place and that is exactly what this does. I find once I apply it it's best to wait a few minutes to 'set' and go matte before applying my base. Upon application my skin appears smoother and more matte instantly, foundation goes on easily and stays in place most importantly! I find I don't need to use powder when using this primer where as I do normally and also find that I don't need to apply powder throughout the day to blot either. My make up looks great for longer and depending on the foundation lasts the whole day without a top up. Result!! As you can see from the picture the primer comes out in the form of a white gel but when smoothed over skin is completely undetectable and invisible. No need to worry about a white cast here! If you have a drier skin type then this probably isn't the best choice as its matte and may exaggerate drier patches, however they do sell a hydrating primer which might be more up your street? If however you are like me and have combination skin and don't want your foundation disappearing mid day then this could be perfect for you!

I've been a fan of Smashbox primers for a long time and love how they do different ones depending on skin type or need check them out here. I have also just bought the 'Luminizing' primer and cant wait to try it out! Think it will be my 'going out' primer.

If your looking for a new primer then I would suggest you give Smashbox a go!.As they have many to choose from and they also do great trial sizes too! All you need is a pea sized amount so the 30ml tube will last you ages and at £25 is a bit pricey however similar to other premium beauty brands. Boots now stock Smashbox which is fab and you can buy online!

What do you think? Have you tried this product before? What primer do you use? Any other recommendations?

Siobhan xxx

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