doyouevencleanse

Summer is now officially over, the nights getting longer, the days shorter and the mornings harder. For me nothing is worse than waking up in the dark and finishing work in the dark but c'est la vie . Usually I'm up between 6 and 6.30 so that I have time to get ready for work as well as making sure my daughter is fed, dressed and at school on time. Despite my vigorous nighttime skincare routines involving acids, oils, creams and other various potions I always wake up puffy faced and looking like I haven't slept - I'm not a morning person and neither is my face. A couple of weeks ago I made a Sephora order and picked up the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator as I'm out of Alpha H Liquid Gold and wanted to change up my acid routine as I have been experiencing more break-outs around my chin, which is unusual but could just be down to the change in weather. Whilst browsing the Clarins section my eye was caught by the words 'Energizing' and 'Wake-Up' in the sa...

As someone who is beauty-obsessed, I spend a relatively large amount of time on FaceBook, Instagram and Twitter hunting down make-up and skincare news, my favourite Bloggers and YouTubers, and inspiration. While my searching sometimes yields excellent results (I've found  Caroline Hirons ,  Sali Hughes , Huda Kattan and  Stephanie Nicole all through social) sometimes my findings are at best exasperating and at worst downright enraging. So here are some of the things that have been exasperating me/enraging me in the social media and beauty world recently, in no particular order - Waterless Make-up removers / Make-up removing mitts: It's probably been a year, maybe two, since these monstrosities came to my notice. The first was the  Make-Up Eraser certain YouTubers/Bloggers started raving about. On their site it claims to: Remove smear-proof, waterproof makeup and mascara with The Original MakeUp Eraser®. Free of chemicals, this makeup remover gets rid of all...

I've talked quite a bit about products I love and use regularly, so let's have a chat about products that I don't love and hardly ever use. This isn't to say that they are bad products - chacun son gout - everyone has their taste as they say here in France, but they are just products that didn't work out for me. I'm going to start with the most expensive, and possibly most disappointing product that didnt work out for me and that prize goes to Armani Luminous Silk Foundation . After seeing this ALL over Instagram and YT and feeling like the description of it as a medium, buildable, natural finish foundation screamed my name I picked it up in one of the most unsuccessful impulse buys ever . After forking out €52 for it when all I had intended to buy was a lipstick, I trotted home smugly with my Sephora bag. I'm sure I'm not the first person to experience that moment when you spend a small fortune on something you have been obsessing over and then th...

I don't like cheap make-up. There. I said it. I've tried and tried to get on the Essence/Catrice etc. bandwagon, both for the good of my bank balance and because loads of people seem to LOVE the products, but I just can't. Not wholeheartedly anyway. The train of thought that goes 'Even if it's rubbish I only spent €4/€5/€10 on it so it's fine' just doesn't sit with me either - yes, these brands are cheaper and less of a financial loss if you hate what you've bought, but that's dependant on how much you buy. Go to Sephora and spend €50 on a palette but hate it? Chances are you will find a way to make it work or gift it. You've lost €50 and that's annoying AF, but on the other hand if you buy 10 drugstore products say, in two months, at a value of €8 each (for arguments sake) you've lost €80 and probably won't bother trying to make them work or gifting them as they were so cheap. See what I mean? I also generally just don...

Face masks are a large part of my skincare routine - at the moment I am sheetmasking 4-5 times a week and my skin has never looked better. It's soft, brighter than before and hydrated. However, masks are only a part of what should be a balanced skincare routine alongside acids, retinols, cleansers, moisturisers, serums etc. Adding a mask to this mix can give your skin a boost of moisture, a good cleanse, a peel or a glow - there are almost too many options to choose from. The most important thing about using masks is knowing what your skin needs. I recommend getting a mirror, a good light and having a look at your skin. What do you see? Dryness? Dehydration? Oil? Blackheads or clogged pores? Is your skin dull? The answers to these questions will help you to figure out which masks you should be using. My skin can get dehydrated and the pores on my nose and chin tend to get clogged - especially during the summer months when it's hot and I'm producing more oil o...

Summer '17 was a busy one. No lounging beside a pool for two weeks with family like last year - this year was all go. Being self-employed I opted not take any official holiday time this summer as we're trying to save up a bit of money to start looking at becoming home-owners, but work was quieter than usual as in France people generally take up to a months summer holidays.  We did however spent 10 days in Ireland in July, then back to Paris, then from Paris to central France to where my in-laws live and my daughter spent the whole of August, back to Paris to work, back to central France to check in and repeat. So even though there was no official holiday this summer there was a lot of travel, mainly by car. I always find it difficult to pack for travel/holidays - generally I end up with a massive case of 20kg or more just for me and I'm sorry not sorry that a lot of this is products - the first time I visited Ireland with Himself he thought we could do 5 days with just han...