January spawned an iron will.

Hello my lovelies! January is the time to make resolutions, yah? I've thought about it, and thought some more and have decided on five beauty resolutions to really treat my skin.

1. To remove make up properly. Eye make up is the worst but I am going to remove it all, tone and moisturise.

2. Use YouTube to its greatest advantage and find more up- do tutorials instead of Morrissey posturing, getting so into the one that you end up doing your very best 'November Spawned a Monster' floor-wriggle.

Can you make it to 2mins20 for the ultimate in Morrissey posturing?

3. Be kind to my eyes and rest them more often. Having a good rest does everything for a healthy complexion. Easier said than done. Especially when there are plenty of Morrissey videos to dance around the room to. The same goes for...

4...#thirstythursday is for my own good and not my followers. Plenty of fluids, including water. I tend to gulp drinks down when thirsty. Really, for the sake of my skin, I should steadily keep my levels of hydration on an even keel. It does my body/skin/brain no favours to be as dry as the desert in Morrissey's video.

5. Make some YouTube videos of my own. That do not consist of me wailing like a banshee whilst flailing my arms around in the air, flamboyantly if you will.

Have you made any beauty resolutions? Let me know and leave your links in the comments below!

#NOTD As festive as I'm going to get. Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish

What could be more festive than nail polish the colour of a glittering Christmas Tree? I'm not very good at detail so on my quest for ultimate nail art nirvana I am testing out magnetic nail polishes.

348 Magnetic Green Sparkle£4.99 from BarryM.com

 I think it is a fairly festive colour. (I really am not one for precision and detail, I have neither the time or the patience).

ALWAYS USE A BASE.

I had a nightmare once with green nail varnish. It stained my nails and made me look as if I was moldy. The horrors of getting it off will scar me for life.

I always opt for Nails Inc Hyde Park Base Coat. £12. (Buy it here).

The next step is to layer a thick coat of the varnish and allow it to dry completely.

One thick coat allowed to dry completely.

If you don't let it dry properly then air bubbles start to form and the effect won't work properly. 

Then coat the nail with another thick layer of varnish. IMMEDIATELY hold the magnet over the polish for at least 10 seconds. The lid has a nifty little groove to place your finger in, but be careful not to press to hard as the polish smudges all over the lid. Yes, I am that clumsy.

I have left this photo unfiltered to see how evergreen the colour actually is.I am impressed with the polish, it is fairly thick and dries quickly so I didn't have to wait for too long. 

Set the pattern with a layer of your favourite topcoat and the end result is very effective, I am tempted to get the other colours to mix and match the magnetic pattern, but first I shall wow a lot at the thriftiness of this boutique effect.

How festive are your nails?

Sachet Training #3 Doctor Duve Anti-ageing Skin Cream

I sit and I stare at the packaging. Is it 'aging' or 'ageing'? My mind naturally flickers to the latter spelling. By this point I am convinced it is the latter and I head to my friend Google, just to be on the safe side. You can see for yourself the whole debacle here. As I live outside of North America I'll continue using anti-ageing and be done with it.

£129 for 50ml Jar of Clarifying Face Cream

£115 for 30ml Tube of Eye Cream

Doctor Stefan Duve, pronounced exactly like the bedspread, claims this is perfect for priming skin before and after aesthetic surgery. Lovely. Hefty price tag to match, growth factors must be expensive whatever they may be.

I don't know how keen I am on layering acid on to my clear skin, even if it is hyaluronic. An extensive search as to what this meant left me flustered but I think it aids cell reproduction.  The plus side to this cream is the fact that it is totally fragrance and colour free. Still, this type of sample just does not appeal to me.

The eye cream was suitable for my sensitive skin, it eliminated puffiness but my tender skin was left feeling dry and nothing really differentiates it from the face cream.

The same thing in two stingy packages. 

I won't be heading out to buy this. In actual fact I'm quite glad it is such a small sample, I can swiftly move on to the next.

Which spelling do you prefer? Aging just looks wholly strange to me!

Any anti-ageing eye creams you can recommend? Feel free to leave me links below.

My final She Said Beauty Box

So I arrived home from my invalid holiday to the final beauty box from She Said Beauty. I had been hearing disappointing things. I was kind of used to it at this point; being asked if my tonsillectomy included the removal of both of my infected useless tonsils was just the start of it.

Next thing; Norovirus. (December did indeed spawn a horrible monster).

 THE LESS SAID ABOUT THAT THE BETTER!

It took all my energy, but wowsers, I've photographed my beauty box to share with you all.

I'm certainly intrigued by the Doctor Duve products, they come with a pretty hefty price tag.

 £115.00 for the anti-ageing firming eye cream 30ml

£129.00 for the Skin Boosting Cream 50ml.

This cream is marketed as a wonder cream for mature or demanding skin. One trick I learned from Mizz magazine? The earlier you use anti-ageing products the more benefits you get. Prevention is better than cure. I'm not sure that I'm fond of the word acid on the packaging when it claims to be natural yet innovative. Hmmm. We shall see.

Luxuriating in festive bliss will be fun with 24K Gold Under Eye Masks by Jamela. I could look like a festive Lady Gaga! Imagine that! I am so looking forward to that post!

They look fairly yellow in this picture, but they are gold in colour and vacuum packed with a liquid in a pack with no instructions. I'm guessing it's fairly straight forward, the name gives it away, but you never know!

So I found their website and I think I'll be haunted for life.

Cleopatra does luxury, now where is my bottle of asp's milk?

Here is the rest of the goodies included in the box. I won't bore you with the trivial details but technics? Reeaaaallly? 

I don't know which beauty box to try next now that SSB aren't doing anymore. Glossybox? I am up for ultimate luxury. You can find me on She Said Beauty here.

Which beauty boxes do you like? 

For all the trouble of making it paraben free they can't get the packaging right.
£25.00 for 100ml

Xmas treat: Spring Clean Cooling Clay Mask - hardly seasonal.
Retail price £1.50

technic - Tawny Port nail varnish
Retail price of £1.25

£5.40 for 15 whole leaf bags of tea.

Lastly luxury tea to have while I bathe in asps milk with gold eye masks under my eyes. 

Oh the glamour!

What a difference it makes...

I can't begin to describe such a little thing that makes a big difference.

Being a big believer in skincare I have found another product that I totally adore thanks to a beauty box. A She Said Beauty Box. Pleased with the large sample I smothered it on, not thinking it would last the whole week.

Lovely cream that seeps into the skin, locking in moisture overnight. Tendency for very dry skin, especially during the winter months. It took a week to use the 5ml sample from the She Said Beauty box. At first I did not think it was rich enough, and the smell was a bit grannyish, but I have found my skin to be beautiful and supple in the mornings, without leaving a layer of grease. It didn't feel as if it was clogging my pores making fertile ground for spots and black heads but rather left my cheeks fresh and ready for make up!

I love my night time routine. I trick my body into falling asleep. So much so that I actually have grown fond of the rose granny scent. I reminds me of a few summers ago when I wore nothing but Paul Smith's Rose. Delicate is the word I am looking for.

[Tenuous Morrissey link: All his fans want to get on stage and give him a blue rose. Not me, I just have quiet admiration from a distance and that is enough for me]




So if 5ml lasts a week then 30ml should last a month. So £14.95 for a full size tube is a reasonable price for one made so environmentally and Morrissey friendly. I'm just lamenting the end of my free sample. Still, it could always be worse.

I said I couldn't begin; before you know it I've ended my beauty diatribe.



Do you have any night time tricks? I'd love to hear about them.