Lets do this, for me.

I've been thinking about this post for a while now.

 How to get back into blogging without making up some lame-ass fake excuse as to why I stopped blogging...how about some truth.

I have always been very wary as to what people think of me, never wanting to disappoint, come across big headed, snobby, vain even, but somehow those labels gravitate towards you when you begin blogging. 

I enjoyed making the content for my blog but once I hit send, huge twangs of anxiety hit..but why?!

The online community is such a supportive one, with people writing genuinely lovely comments about me what i'm wearing, or just even sparking up conversation with me - I couldn't speak highly enough about the online community.

It's when i'm talking face to face to the people around me about blogging, that is when I feel most judged. Creating all these view's and opinions in my head that they may or may not have of me for blogging, and the anxiety starts all over again. 

Doubts creep into my mind and I begin avoiding blogger because it's easier to ignore a passion of mine rather than set off the anxiety train.

Anxiety is something that so many young people around me suffer from and it sucks. There is still such a stigma around it, but it is getting better out there, and realistically that is one of the reasons that maybe I was able to be more open with myself about it - The fact that I do struggle and that sometimes I do need a bit of help, and thats okay. 

 At the age of 22, i've turned a page. I've spoken to doctors about my anxiety and ocd and I am moving forward. I've even booked a one way ticket to Australia for later on in the year...(definitely raised the anxiety levels booking that one)

But i'm doing it for me, and thats what excites me the mosts..I suppose its my new motto "doing it for me"

Thats where blogging comes back into it, fuck everyone else.. i'm doing it for me, if people want to judge, judge away - i'd like to think i'm in a place now where I can turn a blind eye. If people read my blog great, cheers thank you very much but this is just really an online outlet for me. Writing about things I enjoy, fashion beauty and travel really being up there on the list. 

So here goes, CandidlyChloe3.0..lets do this..for me.

My Longchamp and me...

My bag of the moment is without a doubt my Longchamp Le Pilage Small.

I've had my eyes on this bag for a while so when I was lucky enough to receive it for my 21st I was over the moon - It is so simple yet so sophisticated.

This is pretty much my go to bag, and I very rarely use any other. It gives any outfit a beautiful finish - very parisian chic! 

As you probably already know my wardrobe is a rather muted one, so with that in mind I love the pop of colour that the brown and gold details give to an outfit. ( you know your wardrobe is seriously lacking colour when you think brown is a pop of colour! haha) 

I've matched my Longchamp with a couple of new purchases. It was loan day last week and my housemate Amy and I had been drowning in a pool of trend related work and thought bugger it! We had the day off uni work, went a little crazy with the shopping and to top it all off had a yummy Wagamama's - so overall a VERY successful day!

I bought the black jeans (£19.99) and the blouse (£25.99) from Zara, and the shoes (£10) from Primark.  I have been looking for some leopard print shoes for a while now, after being inspired by a pin i'd seen on Pinterest, but just hadn't found the right pair for me so when I saw these beauties in Primark I was very impressed! Not gonna lie, Primarks shoe collection is seriously on point at the moment. Usually Primarks shoes are more hassle than they're worth for me as they give me blisters after blisters but they've obviously sorted their life out as like I said - they are killing it!

Urgh - these shoes! I am so in love! If you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen these beauties make an appearance or two! 

My love for Zara is little overzealous so I may have gone a little crazy so I'm sure my other purchases will make an appearance soon enough!

In exciting news I have pretty much finished my 2nd year of uni! I've just got to label and print out my portfolio and I'm done!! WOO!

Til' next time..

Boots 3 for 2!

Just a quick one today, as deadlines are getting crazy. 

I have a week and a half left, then i'm FREE...until september.

I really want to have an amazing summer, this academic year has been incredibly stressful for a number of reasons, so giving the elbow to Uni for 5 months on the 23rd will be the dream.

I have a few plans for this summer, I'm going to Florida for a month to visit famalam which I am incredibly excited about..SEPHORA ANYONE?!

Also, there has been word of a potential explore of Europe for a couple of weeks with my chummy which gets me incredibly excited. 

                                          But onto the post eh?

I was back in the 'Shire last week for Easter and my attention may have diverted into Boots, and the 3 for 2 offer may have caught me out. I was having one of those days where everything went wrong, including smashing my phone screen..so the 3 for 2 purchase was obviously justified..

I've been using the MUA eyebrow palette for about 2 years now, but due to re-shaping my eyebrows I've began filling them out slightly differently. The colour in the MUA palette was WAAAY to red-ish and my eyebrows just looked a hot mess. So I Picked up Soap and Glory Archery in the colour "Hot Chocolate." I've used a similar product before, the MAC eyebrow twist pencil but it just ran out so fast that I couldn't justify paying that amount of money to repurchase it. So far I am loving the Archery product, the colour is almost a perfect match for my brows and the spooley on the other end is incredibly useful for those times when you have a bit of a heavy hand and need a bit of a blend.

Next I went for the Seventeen Falsify HD! I have heard such great things about this product, giving natural lengthening with one coat but also with the ability to build for a more dramatic look. What can I say, I am IN LOVE with the product. It is so affordable and really does what it says on the tin! 

For my third item I went for the Rimmel BB Matte Cream in Medium. I'd seen Shani Grimmond on Youtube use this a few times and the coverage for a BB cream was amazing. I've not had the best of luck with BB creams if i'm honest, i've never found one that I love..so I'm hoping this will be the one! The light in this is very pink in its undertones so I had to go for the medium. At the moment this is too dark for me so I will have to wait a while to give it a try but I am excited to give it a whirl. 

Have you been suckered in by the Boots 3 for 2? What did you buy?

Also, do any of my fellow oily skinned ladies have any recommendations for a good BB/CC cream?

See you later...

All Zara'd Out...

Procrastination is at a high point, and since I have already watched too many episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" that is healthy for one day, I thought lets get another blog post up. I am really trying to be committed to my blog and working on making sure I get up good content that I feel really represents me as a person..on that note, here it is todays post.

I am a big fan of neutral tones in clothes and in fact life...you know the greys, blacks, whites and creams. I feel like investing in clothes within that colour palette means that automatically your clothes become timeless, they're not restricted to a trend, or a season. Your able to mix and match items depending on the season, with this in mind here is an OOTD. 

Zara is the home of all things timeless and by far one of my favourite shops on the high street. The pieces are really great quality, for not a ridiculous amount of money.

I love how grey and black look together, it creates a really well pulled together look with really minimal effort. These leather trousers are a staple in my wardrobe and I got them during the January sales for £20 - BARGAIN! Although Zara no longer has this exact style in stock any more, they do have very similar pairs in store currently, so definitely worth a look if you're in the market  for some leather trousers. 

 I have just ordered a statement tee from Missguided which I think will work really well paired with these trousers and some converse. 

This jumper is the cosey-est, snuggly jumper I own - so cheers Zara for that one. Again it has a really laid back yet chic feel about it with the serious ability to dress up and dress down. I will be really sad when its time to put this one away from summer! I bought this whilst I was in London for my 21st in December as we were heading to an Ice Bar, and clever old me didn't have anything appropriate to wear. 

My Bag and belt are Mango - another fave of mine. The shoes are Topshop, they have restocked these for the summer at at £18 they are a bit of a steal really - so go on treat yourself!

Soz about the awful carpet, i'm still at my uni house and the landlords taste is certainly..umm..different. I'll be home soon so expect some lovely backdrops of the Welsh countryside ( weather permitting! )

Not following me on social media? Come and take a peek. 

Instagram  Twitter

Shay x Quay or Cole Haan?!

It's official, today is the day - the clocks have gone forward, which technically means its spring, but the weather hasn't quite caught up yet..mind you I have so much work to do so going out an enjoying the sun wouldn't even be an option, so on second thoughts stay cloudy and grey until my hand-in on the 23rd of April...k?

As we are creeping into sunglasses season, I wanted to take a look in TK Maxx to see what they had to offer, before I went and had an unnecessary splurge. I have had my eye on the Shay x Quay collection that Quay brought out a couple of months ago and especially the "Midnight Runner" style. So when I saw an almost identical pair for £12.99 I had to get them! 

They are a flat top square shape with a Chanel-esq black and see through combo. Now, usually I feel black sunglasses just don't suit my complexion so I tend to stick to tortoise shell, but as these do have the fade on them I feel like they are a good inbetween. This is the first time I have ventured out of the usual big "Victoria Beckham circa 2005" sunglasses so it was a little bit of foreign territory, but after a read up of what shapes suit my face shape, and trying them on AND the fact that they were £12.99 I was sold! 

The brand of sunglasses are by Cole Haan who aren't so big over here but are an All-American brand, similar shapes to Ralph Loren and even Jack Wills back in the day. I can't find a name for the sunnies but the code is "C612210" if that helps, an additionally they were originally $78.00! WIN! So overall I am a happy bunny, not only are these gorgeous but they have saved me a fair amount of money! 

TK Maxx can be so overlooked, and I put my hands up to not really considering it when shopping, but if your prepared for a serious bargain shopping trip TK Maxx is 100% a one stop shop for everything!

Have you found any goodies in TX Maxx? 

I feel a may become obsessed! 

My Lazy Red Lip Tutorial...

I love a good red as much as the next person, but it can be very fiddly and messy, getting on your teeth and even your face if you're lucky...and then after a few hours you find it pretty much all come off and you're left with is a faint reminder of what was..or maybe something less dramatic than that... haha! 

But nonetheless, its is a pain it the bootay to say the least, that is why lip stains are the way forward. I honestly don't know how I lived before this gem came into my life.. 

I've heard a lot of pretty great thing about Wet n' Wild but unfortunately its not stocked here in the UK.. so when my mum went to Florida last year I took good advantage of that and got her to pick me up some American drugstore goodies. One of the things she did bring back was this Megalast lip product in the shade Red my mind.  Its the perfect cool toned red, so not only is it a really lovely colour, but it also makes your teeth look whiter - Win! 

Enough blabbing from me, I'll give you my step by step guide to achieving this hassle free, long lasting lip look..

-Pre base application: apply a decent lip balm that is going to give your lips a quick nourish before we start applying product..Also lip stains do tend to be rather drying so we want to avoid cakey lips.

- Optional: Line your lips using a matte lip liner, I like to use Mac lip liner in the shade Cherry as it is a really versatile shade. Its also a gorgeous shade to wear alone. I often tend to slightly over draw my top lip as its is significantly smaller that my bottom. If you are looking to over draw I can't tell you how important it is to always use a matte shade.

- Once my liner is applied I apply my Megalast product, keeping it within the line you have created using your liner. Now you do have to work quite fast with this product, and trust me don't get it on your teeth i've made that mistake it is a right pain to get off! It has quite an odd feeling as its drying but once it is dry it is completely matte and doesn't really feel like you have anything on your lips at all. Which for me is perfect!

-Finally, I make those lines extra clean using a Concealer and a brush.

What is your go to red lip product? 

Leave a comment or tweet me, I'd love to know if there are any other reds I should look out for!!

Chloe xx

Is it spring yet?

Ok, so its official...Uni swallowed me whole and left me no time to keep up with blogging, buuut after taking a browse around the blogosphere, I realised actually I really enjoy blogging and it is something I am really passionate about - why I let it slip I will never know. Slap on the wrists for me!

But back on topic eh?! Is it spring yet, this winter has d-r-a-g-g-e-d! I am not a great lover of winter as it is, but holy moly this one has been never ending! I am so ready for spring, warm weather, cold drinks the lot. Dreaming of summer is honestly getting me through deadlines! I have so many at the moment, with my second year at Uni fast coming to an end - Which is very scary, only one more year until I'm in the big bad world of employment! AH!

  As you may already have noticed, a few things have changed about me since I last blogged. Firstly, my severe lack of tan - BOO! Also my hair, it is now a lot shorter and brown. My hair whilst blonde always strayed off course to an orange shade, which drove me mad. Its probably because of the many years of dying my hair and that one not so clever time I decided to dye my hair brown/red ( I blame Rihanna for that one) so with all that in mind, I wanted to take my hair back to basics and got the chop around november. Whilst there is still a small amount of dye in my hair the majority is my natural colour so I plan of getting my blonde on again soon..

To start of the weekly posts that WILL be coming is a quick look I pulled together. During winter, I am a stickler for leather, leather and more leather. I think its effortlessly chic, and can be styled in so many ways to create the perfect look. Here i've paired my River Island leather skirt, with a H&M basics striped top, my favourite ASOS pointed chelsea and my Mango Celine-esq bag. I'm not a big jewellery girl, although I wish I was...but i've put on my Mulberry silver clasp to complete the look. I love the way silver jewellery is so versatile, and doesn't have to break the bank to look classy.

I  have not quite got to grips with my tripod so apologies for the lack of shoe in the first image - who knew they could be so confusing! I am going to be really committed with my posting in the coming weeks and months and really am ready to fall back in love with blogging. 

I am hoping to set up a new twitter for my Candidly Chloe blog in the next few days, as currently it is linked with my personal account so its about time to sort that - I'll be sure to let you know when that's going live!

Anyway, thank you for sticking with me,

Chloe xx

Recent Purchases - Thank The Lord For Student Loans.

Sorry for the absence, I've been settling into my new house and getting back into the swing of Uni. We've immediately been hit with an abundance of work so that hasn't exactly helped the lack of posts but hopefully i'll get into a nice little routine and be able to get at least a post up a week again!

Thank the lord for student loans! EVERYTHING has run out at once, I had to buy new concealer, new mascara, new micellar water, more of my clinique skincare so along with these I decided to pick up a few items that it'd been lusting over for a while now - why not....I've been working hard all summer and it's okay to treat yourself now and then...right?!

Lets start with the beyond gorgeous YSL lipstick - it is from the 'Rouge Pur Couture' collection and in the colour 01. Now this is in my opinion a gorgeous universally sexy red that will look beautiful on a range of skin colours. It is also that type of red that makes your teeth look nice and white - winner. I have only used this product once but the longevity is amazing, I reapplied once after I had eaten and that is it! It doesn't have that horrid tacky feeling that some semi-matte lipsticks have, but it is scented, I can't quite put my finger on the notes but there is definitely a floral scent to it.  

Whilst at the YSL counter I tried the new fusion foundation, and oh my it was something else. I was matched to being in between shades B40 and B50 but as my summer tan fades I will probably end up as a B40. Unfortunately, they didn't have any testers in that day so I couldn't take it home for a play but this foundation is definitely on my hit list for a future purchase. 

Next is the Laura Mercier oil free tinted moisturiser in the shade sand. I have been eyeing this product up for months, seen endless reviews about it but just couldn't decide because of the price. ( It retails at £34 Link here ) I'd popped into John Lewis, and luckily for me they had a student event on so I bought it for £27, which still isn't exactly cheap but I felt happier purchasing it at that price. So far so good, the coverage is light-medium, but is definitely buildable it matches fab against my Pro-longwear concealer in NC30. When wearing it with a primer I have no problems, but if I forget this step I have found that it does oxidise slightly, and comes off to the touch. I have just ordered the EX1 Cosmetics Liquid Foundation in F200, as I have heard great things about it and I do want a foundation with a slightly bit more coverage than the tinted moisturiser for those bad skin days. 

Can we please just have a moment for these badboys....Topshop and their shoes never EVER fail to amaze me for all the right reasons. I saw these and immediately fell in love! All my heels are very similar so I had wanted something that looked slightly different for some time. Now if you shop at Topshop regularly you know they're not the cheapest, but you are buying quality and craftsmanship within their designs. For £55 I think these shoes are a bit of a steal really, they are called The Roxy Heel. I just love the studded detail and the over the foot design - they reminded me very much of Kim K. 

Have you tried any of these products? Has anyone tried anything from the EX1 range, I would love to know your views?

Well That Was A Mistake - #2

In May I had the idea to make use of the products that I regret buying to turn them into something useful... products I regret buying posts. Link here for #1.

So here we are now in early september, and with a summer full of impulse buys, we are ready for post number 2! 

Lets start with Dove Summer Glow Moisturiser. I have never been into fake tanning nor will I ever be, being blessed with an all year round tan, I have never really felt the need to buy tanning products. Here I was a few weeks prior to going on my holiday to Santorini and thought bugger it I will try this out to avoid the first day pale-ness sitch..Oh Chloe, what a mistake. First of all the smell, even though this is just a moisturiser it still has the biscuity fake tan smell - YUK! After a few applications rather than giving me a 'summer glow' I was looking more like an orange, having olive skin I have yellow undertones but this was turning my legs into a pinky orangey mess. So Tip for you fellow olive skins out there - this isn't ideal!!

I've heard good things about the Mitchum brand, and have used the stick version of this and have been very impressed, but something told me to try the spray and unscented ( why?! ) version instead. This may be a little TMI so soz in advance but I felt that this was great at avoiding any 'dampness' as such, but throughout the day it gave off this odd smell, it wasn't a sweaty smell but it wasn't nice one either so I soon put this to one side and swapped back to trusty Sure.

Ok...Ok, so maybe I should have not expect much from a Tesco Hairspray but after being stranded without any hairspray I thought, lets just give this a go.. yeah needn't of bothered. It smells like vodka, has little to no hold and simply just turned my hair into a crusty mess, and if it is even drizzling outside your hair will become a walking gluestick..HORRID!

Next is the Garnier 2in1 eye makeup remover, I had read a lot of good thing about this online and having used the micellar water and fallen head over heels with it, I thought I would give it a go. It claims to nourish eyelashes and prevent that annoying eyelash fallout that can sometimes occur with harsher removers. So when my eyelashes began coming out whilst using this I was less than impressed, as you may or may not be able to see from the image I have use the majority of the bottle as I wanted to give it a good go before I gave my final verdict, but I would not recommend or repurchase this again!

Finally its the Essence metal glam eyeshadow, I have been looking for a pinky shade to put in the crease when creating a day smokey eye, and thought I'd give this a go. Especially as it was an absolute steel, so cheap! Essence is a new range in wilko's and everything is under £7 so well worth a browse.. It may be a little harsh to be putting this in my mistakes post as I don't hate it at all. Its just a lot of work for little pigmentation, this may be to do with my skin colour and type and perhaps it would show a little better on paler skin, but as I said I have to use a lot of product to get it to show on my skin..

Have you tried any of these products? If so what do you think about them?

 

Black Jeans - How I Style + Tips.

These are my absolute favourite jeans, OK...I'm the first to admit my wardrobe isn't the most colourful, nor will it ever be, so therefore these black skinny jeans are an huge staple for me - you can dress them up with heels, or rock them with a pair of your favourite pumps and still have the ability to look super chic!

Although I was lucky with taking my images today, the weather as of late has been nowhere near as gorgeous and warm as the weather was last month. There has been a real chill in the air. (I even lit my first fire at the weekend...in AUGUST!! #craaaazy ) Because of this I have had to begin pushing my Autumnal clothing to the front of my wardrobe a little sooner than thought. There is nothing I love more than a good jumper and shirt combo in the Winter months.. I just love how it can bring a relaxed yet really pulled together look with an outfit.

Skinny Jeans are in my opinion, the easiest and most versatile jeans to style, and here are a couple of my go-to tips when styling a good pair of skinnys:

-Why not roll up the end of your jeans to revamp the look of your skinnys.

-I love styling mine with a Chelsea boot in winter, and a pair of loafers or pumps in the warmer months. 

-Skinny Jeans have the ability to lengthen even the shortest of legs, so to round off that day to night look, match them with a light skin coloured pair of heels to give you a few more inches and plus it creates an optical illusion making the legs look just a little longer..YAAAY

- If your looking for a good, long lasting new pair of jeans why not take a look at M&co's Website they have a wide range of styles, colours and prices!

Not long until I get back to Uni, so beginning to plan my room so expect a room tour post in a couple of weeks, super excited! :)

Do you guys have any DIY tips for a uni bedroom?

Santorini!

As some of you may or may not know, I've just been to Santorini. It's THE most stunning and magical place I have ever been to and I'd highly recommend going to anyone!

Since I've been back a week now, been through the holiday and back to work blues, and thus thought it was only right to do a little post of some of my photos. :)

I was lucky enough to go with my bestest chummy - Sophie. This is us after climbing no-joke about 300 stairs in about 30C mid-day heat so we were rather sweaty but it was so worth it for the views!

The same day we'd taken a coach trip around the island for 44 Euros, which included 4 stop of places, including the famous Oia. It certainly didn't disappoint, not only were the views spectacular the food was out of this world, we had traditional souvlaki - so yummy!!

Now being back in England..reality has hit. Uni's coming up very fast and i'm no where near prepared, I have summer work, and new house essentials to stock up on - any excuse for a trip to Ikea hey!? ;)

Anyhoo, have any of you guys been to Santorini, or even have anywhere you reccomend for me to visit in the future??

Until next time...

Santorini - My Holiday Essentials.

I'm off to Santorini on Tuesday, I'm VERY excited, so today I started my packing lists, 'to-do' lists, all the pre-holiday essentials, and thought why not do a post of the things I can't live without when on holiday! 

I recently took a trip to my local Matalan to my delight they had some gorgeous bikinis for almost half the price of anywhere else, I picked up a gorgeous bright fushia bikini top and bottom for £8, which I thought was an absolute bargain!! I'd highly recommend Matalan for bikinis to anyone.

Next is my Tangle Teezer, this is an absolute essential not just when on holiday but for life. My hair knots very easily and with this brushing it out isn't the pain it used to be, so this is ideal to just pop in my beach bag to give my hair a quick brush post-swim! 

As anyone knows, sun cream is a must so I picked up a couple of bottles of suncream from Home Bargins ( My new favourite shop - everything is so cheap! ) I got one that I've used before by Garnier and also this Malibu aerosol spray which looks like it will come in useful when applying suncream, cutting out some of the faffing, and plus I love a gimmick!  

Hand sanitiser - a huge must! I picked up this Soap and Glory version at boots. Its a perfect size to just pop in your bag and just whip it out when needed.

I am in love with this Garnier - Intensive 7 day moisturiser, it doesn't leave my skin feeling sticky like so many others tend to do. Moisturising before and whilst and after your holiday is essential to ensure a long lasting tan!

I'm not a huge make-up wear-er whilst on holiday but the Revlon Colourstay in Demure is perfect, it replenishes my lips whilst giving a natural sweep of colour. 

Now the obvious - 

Passport, wouldn't be going anywhere without it!

Hairgrip - get that hair out my way!

Sunglasses - My Beaut Bvlgaris will be worn almost all times!

So, i'm going to be away for a week, so the blog posts will be sparse, but be sure to check out my Instagram as i'm sure they'll be a few obligatory Holiday posts going up on there!

Are you going away this year? Have you been to Santorini, can you suggest anywhere to visit?

House Of Fraser - "Hairstyles That Rock" - Festival Hairstyle

Looking for a quick minimum effort, roll outta your festival (hopefully not sodden) tent glam kinda hairstyle?

Then your in the right place...This is my super easy, half up twist. 

When I was contacted by 'House Of Fraser' inviting me to take part in their "Hairstyles That Rock" I was over the moon and got straight to researching, but after a while I realised this hairstyle needs to be one that i'd wear at a festival and even on a day to day basis. Being a girl who loves a quick jush'of the hair n' out outta the house, reading that I needed to use a minimum amount of products was music to my ears.

You Will Need:

Bobby Pins - As many as your hair thickness needs

Dry Shampoo - I love the new 'Batiste Pixie Lott' (My Festival Must)

Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Hair Spray - House Of Fraser £16.50 Link Here

Step 1 - Split your hair roughly in half, I prefer it so its not exact but its up to you. 

Step 2 - Split again in half, with a left and a right section 

Step 3 - Begin twisting your left section, slowly grabbing little bits of hair as you twist - a la french braid style. Once done, pin in place. 

Step 4 - Repeat the same process with you right section, and pin. 

Step 5 - Once finished, begin pulling little sections out of your 'twists' to create a looser, bo-ho feel. 

Step 6 - Spray Aveda Volumizing Hair spray all over but especially concentrating on the twists you have just loosened. 

Step 7 - This one is totally up to you, but I often backcomb the section in between the two twists with my fingers just to again create a looser feel. 

My Hair is naturally wavy and depending of the day, weather, even time of day my hair can either look lovely and thick, or well a little lack lustre, so using a spritz of both my dry shampoo and the Aveda Volumizing Spray ensures that my hairs stays looking thick all day, so this is 100% a product a can't do without and would therefore have to be in my little bag all festival long - What more can you ask for that festival chic!

                           

Hope you enjoyed my quick and easy Festival look, whats your go-to festival hair look??

Why not take a look at House Of Frasers Haircare range?

 

 

Bargain Of The Day - Re-Gen Cream

So, First of all, I'd just like to apologise for the severe lack of posts over the past few weeks, I was super poorly for a good week , then i've been busy busy with work, catching up with friends, and booking a holiday ( yaaaas ) but business as usual from now on! 

So back to the post, as I'm sure many of you know by know my problematic skin is the bane of my life, now that i'm just about on top of the breakout situation thanks to Clinique's 3-step System. ( See post here ) My new problem - acne scarring. My scarring isn't the worst and isn't all over my face, but in the areas I do have scarring the marks are quite prominent. After a quick goog' I came across Home Bargains equivalent to bio-oil, but theirs was in a moisturiser formula. Home Bargains + Skin care..Really?! I hear you say, but genuinely for £3 this product is amazing!

 I had low expectations for this as I genuinely took the approach of, 'Oh its from Home Bargains so realistically its not gonna be that great' but how wrong I was. After the first use, my scarring began to fade, and with continual use, slowly but surely, they are disappearing. It does leave a rather greasy feeling on the skin post-use but thats to be expected as it does have the Re-Gen Oil product within the moisturiser. As I do have oily skin, using this morning and night is a bit of a no go for me, but using it of an evening cream gives me exactly the right amount of moisture I need. Now, If you have dry skin I probably wouldn't recommend it as it wouldn't be moisturising enough, and I have heard it can even further dry out skin even more. 

As you can see from the image it has a medium to thick consistency, it soaks in the skin with an average 5-7 minutes as to be expected from a thicker moisteriser, but other than that nothing but positives to say about this product. I have had this in my collection for about 9 months now, and i'm only just now getting to the bottom of the pot. Perfect!

Have you ever tried any skincare products from Home Bargains? Have they worked for you?

Guest Post with Lauren from Style Like Hers

After exchanging messages on Twitter myself and the lovely Lauren from Style like hers decided to do a guest post swap. I have seen these floating around and always thought they were such a good idea to not only get to know fellow bloggers but to also give their blogs a bit of recognition. I myself love Laurens style and definitely will be taking inspo from her in the future, so with that lets get to it!

Outfit:

Fedora - Topshop

Cardigan - Primark

Crop top - All Saints

Jeans - Topshop

Sliders - Primark

Ring - All Saints

Sunglasses - Primark 

Weird pose - god knows 

Introduce yourself.

I’m Lauren, the girl behind the stylelikehers blog. I’m just about to turn 19 and I am a London law student living in Essex. I'm basically pretty weird, love doughnuts, Harry Styles and burning plastic!

What made you get into blogging?

Mainly out of boredom and a need to fill a void. I spend lots of time reading blogs and watching youtubers that I thought it would be fun to join in! I’m very glad I did because I love it and it’s so much fun! The ladies of the blogging world are all so lovely too!

Who are your fashion and beauty icons - can be from youtube, blogs, celebs. 

I am a massive fan and follower of Lily Melrose from llymlrs.com – absolutely love her blog, her youtube account and her style, she is such a massive inspiration for me.

I also am a big lover of Brittany Lee Saunders – she’s an Australian beauty guru with heaps of personality and is so gorgeous! I find that accent really relaxing right now so am also on a massive shaaanxo spree! I also love to watch essiebutton, fleurdeforce, straberryelectric and beautybaby44.

What is your holy grail product and why?

My Laura Mercier Silk Crème Foundation – absolutely love this product! The coverage is excellent, lasts really well and doesn’t look too cakey on the skin! I love this product so much that I will happily swallow the £35 price tag!

What is a beauty or fashion related product you regret buying and why?

Collection (2000) ‘Big Fake’ mascara – I saw many rave reviews about this cheapo mascara but for me it was a massive flop! It did nothing for my lashes and instead made them short and clumpy messes! I know it was cheap and I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for but it was such a waste of a fiver!

What is your everyday go to hair style?

Down and straightened with a bit of salt spray in it just to give it a little bit of texture a body so that it isn’t pin straight – such a standard for me as I can be so lazy with my hair, especially when I’m running late! It’s mainly because my hair is kinda long I think – I’m considering cutting it short like Louise Thomspon but just can’t gather up the guts to do it!

Are you a tea or coffee kinda girl?

I drink more tea than coffee but sometimes you’re just in the mood for a coffee ya know? It also depends on the kind of tea bag, I mean, Waitrose sometimes have some lemoney tea bags in their machine and I just don’t want those things in my life thank you very much!

What is your summer style staple you are loving at the moment?

My Primark pool sliders are being well loved right now! (Both the Birkenstock copies and the black slip ons!) I have to say I recently got a really long ankle length cardigan from there (seen in the photo) and am in love with it! I’m also loving my striped Pull & Bear dress and my Rae dress from All Saints!

Are there any current trends you simply cannot stand?

I can’t say I’m a massive fan of the gingham trend – mainly because I look like a five year old whenever I try and pull it off!

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

The interaction and just how lovely everyone in the blogging community is just so lovely! It also is such a massive help when you’re having a beauty crisis and are in need of some advice, help or second opinion from someone that isn’t your mum or best friend! 

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Lauren a little better and be sure to follow her to stay posted!