Murad acne complex kit review after two months

Sunday 4 August 2013


As a teenager, I always got the odd spot here and there, but when I hit my twentys, bad skin kicked in big time! For about a year now, I've suffered with acne. My skin constantly has a lot of blemishes, especially the really painful ones that don't budge and my confidence has just plummeted. I've tried everything, they either make it worse or do nothing.

A while ago, I fell in love with a sample of a murad acne cleanser and about a month ago I thought about looking into purchasing some murad products to try. After all, I may as well not give up my hunt for blemish free skin.

Browsing the website, I was slightly shocked at the prices of the products. Then I came across this acne kit with big claims of clearer skin in three days and completely clear skin after a month. For the price, you get a decent amount of products!

Now has it worked?
I'm just going to get to the point, it has and unfortunately it hasn't. Within three days I did notice that my skin was clearing up and blemishes were getting much smaller. After two months (I made the kit last much longer than 30 days!) my skin is still bad and it hasn't prevented or reduced any scaring. However, it does reduce the size of my breakouts and keeps my skin super clean without drying it, which is good considering the main ingredients are hydrogen peroxide and salicylic acid.

I guess the hunt for clear skin continues!

Not on the highstreet

Thursday 27 June 2013

I have always heard of the online shop not on the highstreet and loved all the personal gifts they do, but I never thought about treating myself to some items. I was very kindly offered to review a few items from not on the highstreet and decided to choose some homeware bits and bobs for my new flat. I was overwhelmed by the choices and uniqueness of the items.


How beautiful is this birdcage tea light holder? I love the distressed paintwork and the cute bird on the top. For £8 this is a real bargain! The glass pot inside makes it super easy to pop a tealight in without damaging the birdcage.


As you can tell, I like candles. This tealight holder also doubles up as a cute little vase for a flower or two. I love the handle with comes with it, which means I can hang it up if I want to!


I spend a lot of time admiring this gorgeous pot (sad I know). The shape and ridges are just beautiful and the pink ribbon really makes it. I have plenty of little trinkets lying around, so this will store them perfectly. It is a really good size too!


This is an iddy biddy vase. I have a thing for little vases which can hold one flower. I like to put them altogether all miss-matched.

Whale of a time print by leelee £15*

Finally, I got this adorable print which I can't wait to put in a frame and hang up somewhere, I'm thinking the bathroom. The print is really high quality and I haven't seen anything similar to it before. I love it!

I'm super impressed with not on the highstreet, I will certainly be going back to purchase some more lovely items for my new flat! I really recommend having a nosey to treat a friend or even yourself!

Adding a splash of pink

Saturday 22 June 2013

Swatches: Revlon just bitten kissable balm in honey douce, dainty doll blusher in 003, technic highlights

Recently I have been embracing my pale skin tone a little more and trying to find products and colours which suit it. Pink is certainly a colour which suits pale skin tones and I have been loving wearing it recently. In particular, I have been really loving the dainty doll cream blusher in 003. It is one of them blushers which doesn't look too exciting in the pan, but once on it is truly beautiful. It instantly brightens up my face and you're not at risk of going overboard with this shade.

Technic highlights is a slightly pinky toned highlighter and is perfect with the dainty doll blusher. I go through phases with highlighters, but I have really been noticing the difference it makes to my face when I wear it recently. I've been loving teaming a pink nail with a pink lip too! Topshop's prim and proper with a coat of the glittery adrenalin over the top has been a favourite of mine recently!

Bourjois healthy mix foundation and healthy mix serum

Monday 10 June 2013

Healthy mix foundation - £9.99

I've always been a little bit of a high end foundation kind of girl, but these two bottles gave some firm favorites of mine a run for their money. Both of these foundations add a serious amount of glow and radiance to my skin, perfect considering my skin is dull and often broke out. I feel that the serum is more glowly than the original foundation though. The serum is targeted towards dry skin, whereas the foundation is targeted towards oily skin. However, I wear either but find that dry patches show more when using the foundation.

In terms of coverage, both offer medium build-able coverage. I would say that the foundation version is a little more higher coverage. They both last on the skin for around eight hours, definitely not living up to the 16hr claim on the serum bottle. However, everyone's skin is different and my skin never really holds foundation that well, even with primer and powder.

Overall, my favourite is probably the serum because it is more luminous and light weight. However, on days when my skin just hates me, I reach for the foundation because of the higher coverage.


Which is your favourite?

A few favourites

Monday 3 June 2013


A favourites post is certainly long over due from me, so  I could have included hundreds of products. These five products have been pretty staple in my daily make up and skin care routines for a while now.

Nars Kalahari eye shadow duo
This is just a beauty, one shade is a bronzey colour and the other a browny taupe. They just complement each other really well and are super easy to apply and blend. They have been my get up and go eye shadow shades for a long time.

Lush ultrabland cleanser
This is a very oily cleanser which just melts make up away. I've been loving it as it is exactly what it says on the tin - ultra bland. It does not irritate my very sensitive skin and a little goes a long way.

Nars Douceur blush
This fast became my favourite blusher. It just lives up to its claims by many bloggers to give you 'super model cheekbones'. If only the rest of my make up looked like a super models, sigh.

Lush eau roma water
Again, another lush product which has been helping my sensitive skin. This rose water toner is just so soothing and helps retain my skins moisture levels!

Rimmel lash accelerator endless mascara 
I read so many great reviews about this mascara when it came out and I love it just as much. It makes my lashes so long and full, it's unbelievable. 

life recently has been slightly busy!

Thursday 30 May 2013

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The fact that is it nearly June and I haven't blogged since early april makes me sad. Basically, life got serious around april time. I started my final teaching placement at the end of february, but by april, it had kicked in fully and I was basically the class teacher. So as you can imagine, there was no time for blogging in between all my planning, assessments and worksheet making.

To make matters even harder, I had my dreaded QTS  maths and english skills tests to pass too! The government added lots of pressure by increasing the pass mark and introducing the whole 'three strikes and your out' policy. Frustratingly, I failed my maths test a couple weeks ago by one mark! One mark! But thankfully (and too much surprise) I have passed both now. So I can graduate after all this hard work for three years.

I've also been applying for lots of teaching jobs for september but unfortunately been unsuccessful in quite a few of them. This really knocked my confidence and left me feeling drained. However, that has all changed!

Last friday, I had a successful interview and was offered the position of infants teacher in my placement school! I am over the moon! Literally, everything has fallen into place and I couldn't be more excited to get my own class!

Over summer, I will certainly be getting my blog on again! I've missed it.

Skinetica

Friday 12 April 2013


I went through my teens with pretty decent skin. But since hit my twenty's my skin has just been awful! And there was me thinking I got away with it! I always have quite a few blemishes, I get rid of them and then a whole new bunch arrive! The thing now is that my skin is extremely sore! It's quite upsetting to be sat there in pain because of your skin. So I've tried so many different skin care routines and spot treatments, but nothing, apart from the origins super spot remover, has worked.

Skinetica is quite popular among bloggers! It contains no harsh chemicals, is non-greasy and really light weight. I have been using this every day on a cotton pad after cleansing for around two months. I apply it pretty much as my toner. It doesn't sting, burn or dry out my skin at all! I notice a slight difference in my skin when I use this, but it is nothing major unfortunately. By morning, my spots are a little smaller. This product hasn't really been preventing break outs unfortunately, but that may be down to other products I've been using though.

Although this product hasn't really worked for me, there are some amazing reviews of it from other bloggers! I am still going to keep using this though just to see if my skin decides to stop being stubborn!

Have you tried this product?

I need to re-take my hair care vows

Sunday 7 April 2013


My hair most likely hates me. When I got it cut around four months ago we had a really good relationship  He would get deep treatments several times a week, barely any heat and lots of heat protection if I was to use heat. Well things have taken a turn for the worst. Therefore, I need to re-take my hair care vows!

I promise to use a build up removal shampoo once a week
The amount of products I test out on my hair throughout one week is crazy. So I really need to start giving my hair a good weekly cleanse! Boots build up removal shampoo is perfect for that and helps me to not have to wash my hair as often! Also it's apparently just as good as the £20 bumble and bumble sunday shampoo!

I vow to use a deep conditioner every time I wash my hair
I have used a deep conditioner as my normal conditioner for years! My hair just needs something thicker and more moisturising because with it being curly, it's quite dry. But I honestly cannot remember the last time I used one! My hair is getting revenge and looking awful. Well done hair you won!

I promise to use a hair oil everyday
I promise that this hair oil will actually do good, and not contain any silicones! 

Every though I am lazy, I will use a heat protectant every time I use heated tools
This is another thing I used to do every time I used heat without fail. But again, laziness has taken over and I haven't touched a bottle of the stuff since. Just me or does that sound like I am talking about alcohol?

And finally, I promise I will get a hair cut next week (after my friends 21st)
As I mentioned earlier, I haven't had a good hair snip since January. To be honest, I have gone longer! I am one of those people that knows that hair cuts are good and that your hair grows faster after one. But I still hang onto every last strand! But I promise I will get one next week!

I am not alone with all this am I?

Two nars products I have been loving recently

Wednesday 3 April 2013

 Nars has to be my all time favourite make up brand! From what I have tried, several blushers, highlighters and eye shadows, I have always been impressed with the quality of the products. 


I have wanted this blush for absolutely ages! In the pan, douceur looks pretty boring, a dull, dusty, matte pink. But oh my, how this changes and has fast become my favourite blush shade ever ever! I have read a lot of reviews saying that this blush gives 'super model cheekbones' and it certainly does! It gives so much structure to my face and even makes me look really healthy. I have been wearing this every day, slightly contoured in the hollows of my cheeks, for the past month. Seriously, this blush kicked orgasm's ass out of my favourite blush ever category! 


I am a self-confessed eye shadow addict! Funny considering I never worn it about a year ago! I just love anything neutral and shimmery! I have only one nars eye shadow, and it does not get much use, but I have always wanted this duo (along with many more).  One of the shadows in kalahari can be described as a pearly bronze and the other as a brown taupe shade. They compliment each other so well, yet can be worn alone. These last for ages without creasing and when used with a wet brush can go on really pigmented. 

Do you have a nars obsession? What are your favourites?

Organix macadamia oil

Sunday 31 March 2013


I confess, I am a hair oil addict. I have far too many and always want to try the newest one. I have that many that I struggle to pick a favourite. However, this organix macadamia oil is certainly in my top three! 

I have always wanted to try the Macadamia Healing Oil, but was always put off by the price tag of around £30. But this oil contains similar ingredients and only costs around £7! This product seriously moisturises my dry hair and I can put tonnes of this stuff on and it never feels greasy or heavy. It helps to de-frizz and smooth my hair when it is looking a little fluffy and wild. It smells beautiful too! I think I prefer this to the Organix Moroccan Oil, which is saying something because I adore that hair oil too! It just adds much more shine and makes my mane manageable. In terms of long term benefits, I have noticed that my hair is shiner and softer which is a bonus because I haven't noticed any long term benefits with hair oils before.

Headache relief balm

Saturday 23 March 2013

Anatomical oi! you throbhead headache relief balm* £3.49

A little of a different post from me today but it is on something I suffer with regularly, headaches. I have had regular headaches and migraines for years now and the normal dose of paracetamol just does nothing. I have been trying out the anatomicals head ache relief balm, just applied to my temples and forehead whenever I feel a head ache coming on or just as one has fully kicked it.

It contains natural ingredients such as peppermint oil and is a clear balm. However, it does leave a slight shiny residue. But, I really do not mind because this stuff has been working! Together with paracetamol this little balm has been getting rid of those pesky headaches within half an hour! I am very impressed! 

You can purchase this product, along with their sleep balm, from asos, selfridges and newlook!

What's in my bag?

Monday 4 March 2013

Handbag - aldo

Say hello to my beautiful new, actually not that new, handbag. I got it for christmas and it is one of them bags you are scared to put on the floor in case it gets dirty, just me? The best thing about getting a new bag is definitely organising it all. So I decided that while it is nice and tidy and not full of wrappers, hair clips and receipts, that I should do this post. My previous what's in my handbag post can be here.

I don't actually carry about that much in my eyes, but my current handbag must have is my one line a day journal. I love the whole concept of writing a couple of lines every day for five years, to document your ups and downs! It will be such a lovely memory book in years to come. Of course my life would be empty without a diary, it is sad how organised I am! I am glued to my ipad mini so that is always in my bag. At the moment my very pretty mittens from dorothy perkins have a home in my handbag, aren't they cute!


Everyone needs a 'bag bag'. I can't stand having loads of lipsticks and clips at the bottom of my bag. My bag bag just makes it so much easier to find things. It is actually pretty empty at the moment. If I had to pick one essential from this bag, it would be the nuxe reve de miel lip balm. Oh boy that stuff is good!

A product that has saved my skin!

Friday 22 February 2013


I have always struggled with eczema and have always had to be really cautious of what moisturisers I use. About a month ago my eczema, particularly on my face, got really bad. It was really sore and extremely tight and dry. I have prescription creams to treat it, but they contain steroids, which are not best to use on your face a lot. I read a lot about this aveeno moisturising cream, which is made for dry and sensitive skin, including eczema, so decided to give it a try!

The main ingredient is oatmeal! Who knew that it would be so good for sore skin? Well this cream has made a huge difference to my skin. I still need to use stronger prescribed creams when I have a flare up because this won't calm redness and itching. But it does seriously moisturise my skin! I need to use this cream on my face because I am now becoming sensitive to 'normal' face moisturisers. Of course it does not offer benefits that normal moisturisers do such as brightening properties or anti-aging properties. But I am just happy to find a product that helps my skin feel a little more normal.

Of course you do not have to have eczema to use this cream. It would be just as perfect for really dry skin! I am really pleased I found this product! 300ml's is a huge amount for the price and it can be used as a face or body moisturiser. It has just given me more confidence in my skin!

I really recommend this product if you have eczema or very dry skin!

Recently I have been loving...

Saturday 9 February 2013

Playing around with my new DSLR
Feedly blog reading app
Finding a skin care routine that works!
Catching cute snaps of my gerbils
(look how long them whiskers are!)

My favourite hair oils!

Wednesday 6 February 2013




I never realised how much my hair needs hair oils until I bought my first bottle about a year ago. Ever since I have been hooked and my hair throws a hissy fit if I miss this step out from my routine. I have quite a lot of hair oils and wanted to share with you some of my favourites!

This is quite a recent discovery for me, but it has fast made it into my top favourites. I use this before shampooing, when my hair is wet and when it is dry. It just has so many uses! This oil makes my hair so soft and just coats it in so much shine! It smells divine, a little like butter, which is odd but nice! It's super light weight too and does not leave my hair greasy! I really recommend this oil!

The expensive one! I remember the first day I wore this, it was a sunny day and my hair just looked amazing! No frizz, lots of shine and my curls were enhanced. I thought this product would be my everyday hair oil, until I discovered it contained silicones, boo! My hair loves silicones in the short term, but I don't like the idea of paying so much money for something that isn't as pure as I would have hoped. I only use this when I want my hair to look amazing or it's super windy/humid outside. This probably won't be a repurchase once it's gone!

I remember wanting this oil for so long! I have a love hate relationship with it. I love the shine it gives my hair, but the scent is over powering. It can sometimes look a little greasy/visible in my hair. This oil out of all of them gives the most shine!

I adore this oil! I have naturally curly hair which can get a little fluffy and frizzy. This oil instantly smooths my hair and tames any flyaways. It's really light weight too and leaves my hair soft and shiny, this is probably joint favourite with the extraordinary oil!

Another organix product, I really like their hair oils, they do so many too! I actually prefer this to moroccanoil, my purse is happy! When I use this I find that my hair holds moisture for much longer and as a result is softer and healthier looking! I am not too sure if this contains silicones though!

We all know that nothing repairs hair better than a good hair cut. But truth be told, who likes hair cuts? This oil is best left on over night on wet hair and washed out by morning. It is a pain to apply and you can't even open the door without looking like you haven't washed your hair in years. But, it is so worth it! My hair looks healthy, is shiny and soft once dry! For £2.29 (and the pot lasts ages) I can not recommend this enough!

Maybe if I put all these hair oils together I will end up with a super hair oil?

January favourites

Wednesday 30 January 2013


I feel that January has been a good month for discovering new products! Good start to the year hey! My first favourite is mac eye shadows in general. But my favourite shades are naked lunch, a subtle shimmery peachy champagne colour, and satin taupe, a silver shimmery taupe. They are the perfect pair and mac eye shadows in general are of such high quality! 

Next up is the much loved origins drink up mask! Now, I admit it has taken me a while to jump on the bandwagon, but I simply did not think my skin needed this mask as it was quite oily. Well my skin decide to get dry, and I mean dry! But this beauty has saved it so much and smells like apricot too!

I love a good body butter, especially a soap and glory one! I got 'butter yourself' for christmas and have been using it ever since! It smells amazing, it contains orange and shea butter. It's really moisturising and softening too, but the scent alone has me hooked! 

Origins super spot remover was always a product I was a little sceptical of. I've tried many 'spot removers' in the past and nothing worked. Admittedly this is not a miracle worker, but it does a pretty good job of stopping a spot getting worse and calming redness.

Last but not least, I have been loving mac's prism blusher. Prism is a matte pinkish brown and is quite subtle and just adds that extra colour to my cheeks. Admittedly it doesn't show up as much as I would have hoped, so quite a bit of product is required to build up more colour.

What have you been loving?

Make up storage

Sunday 27 January 2013


It's probably no surprise that I store my make up in muji draws! I used to store my make up all thrown into a basket in a random mess. It took me ages to find things and I often forgot I had certain products! Since I got these draws in summer they have seriously changed my daily make up routine (as odd as that is). It just makes grabbing everything so much easier and actually seeing what I have! They actually store a lot more than I initially thought! However, I do need another stack! Maybe I should just stop buying make up? The adorable cotton wool jar is from Abbey's shop, gifts and pieces. She sells the prettiest stuff, honestly check it out! Then the little bird letter holder is off ebay and neatly stores my naked 2 palette!

I need more storage inspiration, send me links of your posts please!

Boots botanics skin relief serum

Sunday 20 January 2013



So for some very odd reason my skin decided to get super sensitive as of recently. I would constantly have sore, red and itchy skin, particularly when waking up and had no clue why. I bought this serum as it claims to reduce skin sensitivity in two weeks! It's key ingredient to do this is marshmallow, which soothes skin and makes it less reactive, who knew hey! Does this mean drinking lots of hot chocolate with marshmallows in will help too?

The serum is of a super light consistently, a little like caudalie thirst quenching serum, however not as moisturising. In fact it's not really moisturising, but that is okay as that's not what it claims. I apply this after cleansing and toning, but before moisturising and instantly my skin, particularly when irritated, feels instantly soothed and calm. After two weeks use I can say this has definitely got my skin back to normal! I only need to use this maybe once or twice a week now, which is great! My skin is not as red, rough, sore or itchy. This is currently on offer in boots for £4.99, so give it a try if you have sensitive skin maybe!

I may have broke my spending ban (a lot)

Saturday 19 January 2013



My old camera decided to retire and leave me for good. So I needed to buy a replacement. I have always wanted a DSLR camera but have always been put off by the prices and of course the skill level required to use them. My old camera was just an average 'point and shoot', nothing too fancy. After much searching I decided to take the plunge and buy myself something I could learn to use and would last a long time and hopefully develop into a hobby! I decided on the nikon d3000 and so far so good! There are lots of buttons and strange numbers, but thank goodness for google! I would love some tips if you have any!

My 50 day spending ban starts again today!
 (I don't have much hope after this incident and many others)

Enrapture extremity heated rollers

Thursday 17 January 2013

 Enrapture extremity heated rollers
(please ignore my disgusting student housing bedroom)

I am a huge, and I mean huge, fan of the Enrapture encode totem styler, so I was delighted and incredibly lucky to have been kindly sent the Enrapture extremity heated rollers to review! Now I've never tried heated rollers before so was super excited to see the results. The way in which these differ from the encode styler, is that they provide much more volume, bouncier and softer looking curls.

You get ten large rollers and ten smaller ones, which means you can create softer, looser curls with the larger ones and tighter ones using the smaller rollers. I tend to either put the larger ones at the top of my hair and the small at bottom/underneath or just use the large ones at the ends. What makes these so unique is that the clips and the rollers both heat up, allowing the clip to lock the curl into place.

The rollers heat up in around five to seven minutes and when your using them they don't burn your hand at all, something I was an little anxious of at first! I found them super easy to apply, even when it was my first time. They sit in really easy, not tugging on your hair and they stay in until they are completely cool. Once they are taken out I do sometimes have one or two marks from the clips, but these can quickly be straightened out. The curls hold all day with the help of some hair spray and are they so bouncy and voluminous! I really like these rollers, they will be perfect for nights or even nice days out and special occasions!

If you think you will love these as much as me you can buy them from boots, john lewis and debenhams for £74.99!

Have you tried these?

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