Veet In-Shower hair removal cream review!

Hello lovelies!

I’ve got another review for you today. I’m not a great lover of hair removal creams, but recently I’ve been giving them more of a chance since it’s summer and constantly shaving is such a chore! Plus I have very sensitive skin, so shaving too much isn’t a good thing.

I picked this up basically because I was in a hurry, poor and in need of something that would replace shaving for about two weeks. I grabbed it from Boots for around £6-7, and I went for Veet because I know they’re a brand that rarely irritates my skin, if ever. I picked up the In-shower hair removal cream with aloe vera and vitamin E for sensitive skin. So it ticked pretty much all my boxes!

The main thing that puts me off hair removal cream the most is the smell. I know it’s on your skin for normally 10 minutes max, but when it’s a bad smell it just puts me off smothering it all over myself. This particular cream doesn’t seem to have a strong smell though, which is an added bonus. You can’t really tell before buying it what it’s going to smell like with this kind of product, but I find running a fancy smelling bath or lighting a candle, you can’t notice the smell at all. Wahey.

But on to the actual quality of what it’s supposed to do, and I can’t say it’s been all smooth sailing. The first time I used this, it was evening, so I didn’t have the best light which is my own fault, but I came away with patchy legs. Attractive. Luckily I was only getting rid of a short amount of hair so it wasn’t too dire. I applied it for the suggested amount of time; they recommend three minutes, then a further two when you’re in the shower if you keep your legs dry/ out of direct water.

I stayed out of the shower for just over 5 minutes then hopped in (I wasn’t 100% sure about how I was going to shower without getting my legs wet). The instructions do say you can leave it on longer, up to 10 minutes, which I tried the next night to get rid of the patches, and found that left my legs feeling gorgeous.

I’m still not totally sold, but I do love how easy this makes hair removal. The sponge makes it especially easy, as you apply with one side and remove with the other. Overall I think I would recommend this, but I’d love to know what you think of it if you’ve tried it out! Or if you’ve tried out any other similar products that you would recommend to try out :)

I hope you enjoyed this post!

n xx

Weekend pampering: Origins charcoal face mask

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies,

I've got another review for you today, and this time it'something from Origins. This has to be up there as not only one of my favourite products but also one of my favourite brands.

 clear improvement

active charcoal mask to clear pores

"active charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers, White China Clay absorbs environmental toxins, Lecithin dissolves impurities. With all that 'stuff' down there, skin 'breathes a sigh of relief'."

I bought this because I'm always on the lookout for things to help me deal with my problematic pores. I'm not really a spotty person, but I have serious nose pore issues in that they're a magnet for blackheads that are the hardest to get rid of.

Since I've started a new skincare regime to target these problematic pores, I've been using this once a week and I've seen such a brilliant change in my skin because of it. There's nothing particularly special about it in terms of texture, as you apply it as you would any face mask.  I find that it takes around 10-15 minutes to dry and I tend to apply a fairly thin layer. There isn't any distinct smell that I've noticed, which is just fine by me because it means there's no chemicals in there to make it smell wonderful.

It doesn't tighten an uncomfortable amount, which I have found with some other face masks. To take it off I use an old Liz Earle cleansing cloth soaked in warm water. It isn't stubborn or messy to remove when taken off like this, and you can easily throw the cleansing cloth in the wash afterwards. Afterwards my skin is left feeling refreshed, cleansed and toned. My pores in particular are always less noticeable the next day (I always use this mask in the evening) and my skin feels a lot cleaner. I've also noticed that since I've been using this once a week, I've not had as many spots or general skin blemishes.

Overall, I'm in love with this face mask! It's helped to almost totally save my skin from a really rubbish few months, and if you're having something similar I would definitely recommend trying this out. I picked it up from Boots for £22.

Do you think you'll try it out? Or have you tried it out before?

n xx

Clinique haul!

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies!

I'm turning into a bit of a Clinique enthusiast- I love their skin care so much in particular! I recently repurchased the first two steps of the 3-step skin care, which I reviewed a while back here. I have the dry/ combination products! In particular I love the clarifying lotion, and if you're looking to invest into some new skincare then definitely look into trying this out. My skin is never in better condition than when I'm using this.

Clinique say:

"3-Step Skin Care Type 2

It's easy with the 3-Step Skin Care. Just 3 minutes, morning and night, to see clear, smooth, radiant skin in about two weeks. Cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise. Dermatologist-developed to meet your skin's needs and custom-fit by Skin Type. Works gently, each step enhancing the next."

I didn't repurchase the third step because I haven't used up the original moisturiser I got with the introduction kit, and I had a freebie of it too!

 Confession time. I only repurchased the soap and clarifying lotion because there's currently a freebie bag. Who doesn't love a freebie bag?! Plus it's from one of my all time favourite make up brands, and I picked it up as soon as I saw it in Boots (I've not checked if it's available from other places where Clinique is sold). So here's what I got! 

First, it all came in the cutest bag (top photo) that has the nicest summery print that I'm looking forward to use for my make up. I needed a new make up bag and I think this will be perfect!

 mini nail files

I'm not too excited about these, but they should be perfect for throwing in my handbag when I'm travelling.

 liquid facial soap mild

"Step 1 in Clinique's 3-step skin care system. Gentle, effective, cleansing for dry combination skins. Leaves skin feeling fresh, clean, confortable."

I'm excited for this because it's a mini of what I already bought! Got to love a handy travel size.

 a different nail enamel for sensitive skin

"different because this high performance, high-gloss nail colour is specially formulated for sensitive skin"

Because who doesn't need a barbie pink nail varnish in their life. Who.

 high impact macara & long last glosswear duo

"get glamour to go with this combination: a favourite mascara to kick up the volume of each and every lash. For lips, hours of shine from a glistening gloss."

I've never been keen on these combo kind of products before, but if it's free I'll give anything a proper whirl!

 all about eyes

"lightweight, hydrating cream/gel diminishes the look of puffs and undereye circles. Helps hold eye makeup in place."

I'm so excited to try this out! I have really severe under eye circles at the moment, which is mostly due to lack of sleep, but not entirely. I'm trying out a range of eye creams so you can expect a review of this to pop up in the future! I think this is also a full size product.

moisture surge extended thirst 

"enjoy rapid refreshment and a full 12 hours of soothing moisture with an addictive by-a-waterfall feel. Advanced hydration boosters and a new botanical blend that locks it in. Holds in skin's moisture in balance through stressful shifts in humidity."

Another product I'm super excited for! It's not something I was looking to try out but I think my skin needs particular TLC as of late so this should be perfect. Again I think this is a full size product and look out for a review soon!

I hope you liked this haul! Will you be looking at picking up this free goodie bag? You only have to purchase one Clinique product to get it, and no price is specified! 

n xx

Weekend wishlist- summer happiness ♥

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Happy Sunday lovelies 

clockwise from left

Miss Selfride playsuit £35 - link!

Marc Jacobs Dot Eau de Toilette £67.50 - link!

Etsy iPhone case £4.67 - link!

Topshop leggins £28 - link!

Michael Kors rose gold Chronograph watch £229 - link!

(I also really love this watch - I can't decide which I love more!)

n xx

My MAC quad- review!

*this is a queued post- I'm on a mini holiday! I'll be replying when I'm back*

Hey lovelies!

A while back I bought this gorgeous palette from MAC, mostly because I adore a neutral eye look, but I never really started using it until the last few months. I'm not always an eyeshadow person, I tend to go through a love/hate relationship with it, so I thought that I would start using them on my brows.

See my haul post here!

In the palette there is (in order as above);

brule, omega

kid, espresso

MAC describe these shadows as being 'highly-pigmented powder. Applies evenly, blends well'.
The pro palette refills cost £10 each, but individually they would be £12.50. The quad palette is £6.50.

Packaging
I really love the new design of the pro palettes and how you press one of the corners to lever up the whole of the base of the palette. MAC describe the palette to be 'ultra-slim, stackable and easy to use. Fits compactly into your makeup kit', which I agree with totally. I love the clear top that lets you see the shades you have inside, which I can imagine to be handy if you happen to have more than one palette.

swatches in order;

brule, omega, kid, espresso

I didn't actually ask for help matching these colours to my brows but I seem to have picked out pretty much the perfect colours! I have all matte shades because I'm not a massive shimmer fan and I wanted to invest in a quad of colours that I'd use regularly, plus I also own woodwinked and era as single colours which both have a fair amount of shimmer.

I definitely agree with MAC describing these as 'highly pigmented', as I find that it's really easy to quickly do my brows without having to mess around for too long. I use the angled eyeliner brush from EcoTools but any angled eyeliner brush would do, but I find this one great for precision sweeps as I don't have really thick brows.

I mainly use omega and espresso on my brows, as omega is naturally closer to my natural-but-filled-in colour, and espresso is just a little bit darker to give me a better defined brow. When I'm blending these for a natural eye look, I use brule as a base/ highlight over my whole eyelid. Over the main part of my lid I have omega, then work a combination of kid and espresso into the outer corner and crease. I really like this look because it's not too done up but still just enough! Plus these last really well, and I find that they'll last through my average 12-14 hours of wearing make up.

Overall, I really love these shadows, and I would happily purchase every single colour ever. I love the quality of MAC shadows in particular, and I'd definitely recommend looking into getting these if you're looking at getting a high end palette. As much as I love some of the other palettes out there, with this you can pick and choose the size you want and the exact colours that are right for you!

Have you tried any of these colours? What are your thoughts on them?

n xx

London baby!

As I mentioned in my sunday life post, I went to London last week with my boyfriend Jay and his family- I just wanted to share with you a few photos and purchases from the few days that we were there!

I ended up buying both these from Topshop- I'm so in love with the dress, it's adorable!

We went to Zizzi's and I had this mint tea, how cute is the mug and saucer?!

We went for a mini wander after dinner and ended up in Covent Garden and sightseeing a few other places :)

I'm so in love with the underground at Baker Street, it's so cute!

We went to Choccywoccydooodah and it was SO lovely but oh my goodness I could still happily never have chocolate again, we were so full after it!

Finally, I bought myself some Vans while we were down there! I only wish I'd bought some sooner, they're so comfy.

I love London so much at the moment, it has to be my favourite place!

n xx

Sunday life #1

Hey lovelies,

So I've never posted a 'my week on Instagram' kind of post, but I thought I'd give it a go! I'm going to combine it with a bit about what I've been up to recently. Let me know if you like these kinds of post, because I'm a little Instagram crazy :)

My name on instagram is nikkiyvonne_ if you wanted to follow :)

There's a Costa literally two minutes from my boyfriend's house, which is such a blessing in the heat we've been having! I was up staying at his to go to my second army summer ball and house sit while he was in Cyprus. The summer ball was with his mum and oldest sister, who both looked so gorgeous! We had such an amazing time, though the next morning I felt a bit rubbish (they left for Cyprus straight after the ball) so consoled myself with a kingsize duvet day with CSI and the cupcake I got given!
I recently got an iPhone after my last phone died rather dramatically, and I've been loving this countdown app! I'm crazy for a good countdown. My dad came up to visit me while I was house sitting and we went out for the loveliest meal, then before I knew it the others were all coming back from Cyprus! 

We then had a few super busy days, and went down to Manchester and Jay (the boyfriend) managed to get a go on his grandparents mobility scooter. People gave me such dirty looks because I couldn't stop laughing at him!
I got to go to London with Jay and his family for his youngest sister's birthday, and it was the loveliest few days. I'll have a mini haul of my purchases coming soon, plus a bit more about what we got up to! We even had a mini adventure when Jay and I got the wrong train on the underground.
Once we were back home, we went out for the loveliest brunch and since then I've just been loving all the memories! We all had such a lovely time and I'm dying to go back to London already just to do more shopping, I haven't been in so long.

I've had such a busy few weeks! I hope you liked this post :)

n xx