Clearasil Blemish + Marks Scrub & Wash and Mash - Review*

I've mentioned in a few posts now how my main problem is no longer with acne, but rather the awful marks left behind that lots of girls will understand all too well. These can take months to completely disappear and can make your skin look a whole lot worse than it actually is.

Medically speaking, these marks are called 'Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation', or PIH, and are a result of the skins natural response to inflammation. When your skin is inflamed by acne, the skin produces an excess of melanin, the pigment causing skin to become darker. This is left behind after the skin has cleared up and can take up to 24 months to clear - 2 whole years!! However, there are products on the market designed to combat the problem - usually either through brightening of the skin, or exfoliation. When Clearasil offered to send me a few products to try designed to combat this, I jumped at the chance!

The new 'Ultra Blemish and Marks' range are designed to combat not only to prevent acne, but also to clear up these marks to provide the ultimate clear skin, and include a Scrub, a Wash/Mask and a treatment cream. I chose to try the scrub and wash/mask, as I already have a prescribed treatment cream that works well for me. I've been trying the products for a few days now, so without further ado, here are my first impressions!

Blemish + Marks Scrub
This is probably my favourite out of the two products - an exfoliating scrub designed to exfoliate away skin cells and renew the skin. The first thing that struck me with these products is that they smell incredibly weird when you first open the bottle, but then as soon as you apply to the face, it begins to smell all fresh and lovely and apparently (according to my sister) a little like watermelon? A good scented face product for me, is always necessary! The scrub is very effective and has very small particles in it's formula, meaning it doesn't feel rough on your face but still leaves your face feeling incredibly smooth - to the point where you will walk around having to resist the urge to stroke your face (that might just be me...).

Blemish + Marks Wash and Mask
Woah, what's this?! A wash and mask in one?! When I saw this it struck me as totally weird, but thinking about it, as long as it works it does make perfect sense and is very handy! I first tried the face wash and to be honest it was tough competition from the word go - I have a deep emotional connection to my Liz Earle Cleanse+Polish, and a slight 'bit on the side' connection with my Body Shop foaming cleanser, so it was always going to be hard! This wasn't great at removing makeup, but worked effectively as a cleanser after using a makeup remover to cleanse my skin. I used it as a mask a few days later and in my opinion, it works much better as this! I applied it heavier this time and let it set for around 10 minutes - it's a slightly runnier formula than the usual mask because it's also a wash, so won't harden - though if applied lightly it will dry on the face. It had the usual slight sting of a face mask working its magic when first applied, but fades after a few minutes. I quite like that, as it makes me feel the product is actually doing something! It was easy enough to wash off with a flannel as it instantly softened when met with water. Bear in mind also that the face mask creates a break out the day after, as it will bring all the layers of dead skin cells, sebum and other dirt concealed in your pores to the surface - but after this I had no problems.

I did really enjoy this as a mask, but I do wonder why it wasn't marketed as a separate product, as the wash just wasn't that effective for me! Something to bear in mind when used as both a wash and a mask is that this product is extremely drying on the skin - I understand this is to combat acne and is due to the lactic acid and salicyclic acid in both products, but it is definitely necessary to use a moisturiser with these products so they don't completely dry your skin out. I would also recommend using the products no more than once a week for the mask, and two/three times a week for the scrub - and these are definitely only suitable for people with combination/oily skin! If used this regularly, I would definitely say these products would be effective in preventing acne, as long as you monitored the dryness of your skin!

I can't yet comment on the effectiveness of the mark fading, as this can take 4-8 weeks to work, but I will definitely do a follow-up post with before/after photos to let you all know how it's worked!

Liv

As mentioned in the post and as marked with an asterisk (*), this was a sponsored post and the products were provided by a PR company - however all views are my own and will not be influenced by any external factors other than my experience.

Topshop 'Brows' Pencil - Review

The Topshop brow pencils are something I only heard about a couple of weeks ago, but hearing that the release date was soon meant I had to rush out and get myself one - Topshop makeup has never before let me down and I'm happy to say that I won't be changing that today!

Brow pencils, let's face it, are something that can't exactly blow our brains out - even if they excel at their job, the most they'll do is fairly impress us. But hey, that's all I'm looking for! A nice little brow pencil to do it's job (and eeeeek it comes in the gorgeously cute packaging that is topshop too!)

That's right, I'm starting with packaging. I know it's not that important, blah blah blah, but when I buy something new I want to look forward to using it, not hide it away because the packaging looks like a nice 'Wilko' own brand (Not that there's anything wrong with Wilkinsons, you are my stationary saviour). That's partly why I love the Topshop makeup brand so much - their packaging is always effortlessly cute and exciting - even with some stars, spots or stripes they can make me happy!

I ordered the shade 'Blonde' (out of two choices, Blonde and Brown) because even though my eyebrows are pretty dark, I have light colouring and my hair can go pretty blonde at time, so I don't want my whole face overshadowed. The first thing I would say is that this definitely isn't suitable for anyone with lighter than mid-brown hair, as it's incredibly dark! I actually thought they'd sent me the wrong one at first, till I checked on the website and realised it's just a slightly different meaning to Blonde than you'd expect. Nevertheless, I can just about get away with it so I'm fine!

The product applies really smoothly and easily which you have to watch out for - I ended up colouring in my eyebrows the first time and did look rather odd that day, as I'm used to having to scrape my old MUA one over my face to get any product out. Another thing I liked was that though a lot of product came onto my brows, the pencil stayed the same shape and appeared to have hardly been used - so I can tell this will last me a long while. The best thing for me about the product is it lasts an absolute century! So I can put it on in the morning and relax knowing I actually have eyebrows all day - not something you want to go without..

I'm impressed with the end result after applying - I'm going to just apologise before you all look at the results pictures, as I recently got a little too pluck-happy and destroyed half my eyebrows from my face, so i'm mid growing them back - hence why they're a) a very very odd shape at the moment and b) fairly sparse in some areas. They're usually an acceptable shape I promise!!

I think they look much better after!
Overall I'm super impressed with the Topshop 'Brows', it's long lasting and easy to apply, as well as having incredibly irresistible packaging..

Face Mapping: What does your acne really mean?

Oh lookie, another post that includes a photo of me with text all over my face! This is becoming far too much of a habit..

Feels like an absolute century since I've blogged, but what with AS revision for my (far too quickly) approaching exams, and more shifts at work, along with trying to maintain scraps of a social life I guess my little baby blog has got a little lost in it all!

Anyway on to another of my 'I better try and be somewhat helpful', today's post was inspired by one I read a while ago on The Beauty Gypsy's blog and has really helped me in controlling my skin. As a lot of you will know if you've read my other posts I suffer with horrifically bad acne, so finding any way to minimise them or even get rid of them is a great breakthrough.

This face mapping technique involved looking at where you get spots, and rectifying things to try and combat them. Remember I've only mapped half my face on this photo, but mirror the numbers to the other side and you get the same effect.

1- Forehead
Spots in this area are caused by the typical unhealthy foods - usually processed foods or junk food, and are easy to get rid of. Just take yourself on a little detox with some healthy foods that contain less fat, check you're drinking plenty of water and they should disappear in no time

2- Between Eyebrows
This is the part of the body linked to your liver - in other words, if you've been enjoying a little too much alcohol, fatty foods and grease filled meals, it'll show up here first. Try detoxing off these foods and taking a break from alcohol. This is also the part of the body where food allergies show up, so it's a good idea to check any new foods you've eaten.

3- Temples and Under Eyes
Spots here link to the kidneys - this is an easy one, simply make sure you're drinking plenty of water - it'll do wonders for your skin here as well as your all over health.

4- Top of Cheeks
This area is particularly prone to spots from things such as dirty pillow cases, mobile phones, excessive face touching (sounds weird but it makes a difference!), as well as being the top spot-spot for smokers and anyone with allergies. Generally for here it's advised that you cut down unnecessary sugars and get outside!

5- Cheeks
This is my killer spot - like I mentioned earlier, I have awful skin - but almost all of it is centered in this area. Unfortunately, this area is determined by hormonal changes and stress, so for girls that's pretty bad news! Keeping your skin clean and minimising heavy foundation in this area will help, as well as a good diet and lots of exercise to keep yourself healthy. If you still have really bad problems in this area, then I would definitely take yourselves to the doctors to get some prescribed medicine - it's what I did and my tablets have worked miracles on both my skin and my confidence!

6- Nose
As you all know, your nose is full of dilated pores just waiting to get filled up with bacteria: so watch out! I mainly get spots in this area if I haven't washed my make up brushes in a while, and it's a great indication of that - as soon as I wash them my spots instantly clear up. Also check you're not piling too much makeup in this region, as it's normally best to put very little or no foundation here to keep natural looking skin.

7- Chin
Another area hugely affected by diet is here - if you've overloaded on high toxin food recently then get yourself on a high fibre diet complete with drinking lots of water.

8- Problems on your neck and chest can be great indications of when your body is fighting illness - I know I've had problems here recently when I was under the weather a little. Here the main thing is to be patient, and get yourself better with lots of relaxation - doesn't that sound nice!


Obviously there are many other reasons why you might have spots in certain areas and this doesn't cover them all, but it's a good starting point when trying to figure out why your skin behaves the way it does - and getting it back on track!

Happy mapping!

Fake Bake Tanning Body Butter - Review

It's that time of year again! The time when you start to daydream in history lessons about beaches, sun and wearing shorts without shivers and goosebumps - the time when every pale girl in the nation starts wishing they could tan. Luckily for us, we live in the 21st century - when fake tans provide just as good a tan as real ones.

Since I discovered fake tan a couple of years ago, I've been searching for my holy grail - but I have to admit I still haven't found it. There are those that provide a gorgeous colour, those that last a lifetime, those that cost literally pennies - but never one that combines it all. So I'm looking down different routes - I want to try different types of fake tan in the hope that one day, one will catch my attention and be that holy grail.

So whilst browsing around the web, I came across this little pot of loveliness - the Fake Bake Tanning Body Butter, £12.99 from Xtras Online. What drew me to this was that it's targeted at people with dry skin - which is a great change from the usual drying tanners.

It comes in a body butter form and is scarily dark in the tub. When opening the tub, the tan has quite a strong chocolately smell, which I found a bit weird at first but it soon faded once applied, and though it then took on a slight usual 'burnt biscuit' fake tan smell, it didn't last long and wasn't at all strong. I used the enclosed gloves to apply it and found that it soaked in really easily, just like a usual body butter - though it did take a bit longer to dry due to it's moisturising nature. The guide colour was a gorgeous golden sheen, and because it was moisturising it would easily be acceptable to apply and head straight out for the night. The next morning I woke up and checked the colour and it had gone pretty dark, but not at all orange tinted (ignore the photo, it makes it look far more orange!) and had a lovely golden glow. After a quick shower, the colour was a mid tan and looked beautifully natural and streak free. The colour lasted a good 4-5 days and faded nicely.

The only single bad word I have to say about this product is that you don't get much in a tub - I'd say 4-5 uses, which isn't much for £13 a pot! Despite this, I loved using the product and will definitely repurchase when I run out - the best part I found was that because it was a body butter as well, there was no need to moisturise afterwards which often ruins the colour of the tan.

Though I wouldn't say this was a 'holy grail' tan, I still loved it (I think I'm holding out for a perfection that doesn't exist) and I'll continue to use it - now bring on summer!

How to: Contour and Highlight

If you asked around a room of women, probably almost all of them would say they wore mascara, most of them would say they wore foundation, and lots of them eyeliner/ lipstick. However one crucial part of makeup that many women miss out in their make up routine is contouring - something so simple yet has a huge effect on the whole shape and definition of your face.

After you've applied foundation, your face becomes something of a blank canvas - and it's up to you to reapply the definition and shape. Craftily, many makeup artists have thought of a way of doing this, which can also be used to re-sculpt most facial insecurities and woes.

Contouring is basically the use of dark (bronzer/contour powder) and light (highlighter) colours to trick your eyes into seeing things that aren't real. Much like in art, dark colours are used to make things seem to sink in, and light colours make things stick out - because it looks like the light is hitting them!

Apologies for the photo - it took a lot of searching to get a side on photo (it seems I'm a straight-to-camera girl?) and yes, this was taken about two years ago.. This photo is also me without any contouring, just to give an idea of whereabouts I'm talking about - the numbers will relate to the explanations below. :)

Bronzer/Contour Powder

Bronzer is basically the key part of contouring and can be used in tons of different ways to make your face appear more elongated and thinner. Any type of bronzer or contour powder can be used for this - it's recommended you use one approximately two shades darker than your skin colour, though I use a slightly darker one so I can see more results (I have a rather round face!). I use the NYX Blush in Taupe which you can see a review on here. To apply the bronzer it's best to use a slightly angled brush, but I use my Body Shop Blusher brush pinched between my fingers to make a thinner brush.

1) The first and main place I use contour powder is under my cheekbones, to make my face appear slimmer and make my cheekbones appear more prominent. Suck in your cheeks to see whereabouts your cheekbones are, and then apply a shadow of contour powder just under the cheekbones, usually from about the middle of your cheek all the way up to your hairline. This will really make them pop!

3) Another key place that contour powder is used is in the temples - this slims the top half of your face. Only use a small amount of powder in this area, as it's easy to look unnatural, and blend it into your temples.

4) If you're blessed with a rather large nose such as my own, you may want to contour it to appear thinner around the bridge. Take a small amount of powder and blend it from either side of the bridge of your nose down to your cheek - you'll be surprised at the difference this makes!

Some women also like to blend contour powder along the underneath of their jawline to make this seem slimmer.

Highlighter/ Blush

Blusher isn't really key in contouring, though if you were planning to wear it, it would be applied just above the contour powder, on the apple of your cheeks.

Highlighter is available from almost every brand now, and comes in many forms from liquid to cream to powder. The one I use is the powder highlighter from Topshop in Crescent Moon, which I just find easier to manage than creams, which I sometimes find rub off my foundation! Review here. The thing to remember with highlighting is less is more - if someone can notice you're wearing highlighter, it's far too much.

2) The main function for my highlighter is as a cheekbone saviour - until I suddenly wake up in the morning with model cheekbones I'll be using this badboy! Apply a dusting of highlighter from mid-cheek to hair line just above the blusher along your cheekbones. This will make them stand out and slim your face.

Highlighter can also be used on the ball of your nose and along the spine of your nose (is spine the medical term i wonder..?) to slim your nose, and on your browbones to contour your face further.

If you're a contouring newbie this might sound like an awful lot of work - but the best thing is to pick and choose which techniques work for your face type, and after practice you can get this routine down to a couple of minutes tops! And let's face it, isn't a lovely sculpted face worth that two minutes less sleep in the morning?


On an unrelated note, everyone has been going crazy about Google reader being shut down - and apparently GFC is now also doomed.. I know a lot of people (lovely, lovely people) follow via GFC so I thought I'd quickly mention that you can also follow this blog via Bloglovin', which more people are bound to start using. If you go to Bloglovin', there's also a button which allows you to import all your GFC blogs onto Bloglovin', so it's really easy! If that doesn't appeal to you, I have a twitter account for the blog at @livflorence where I post an update every time I blog with links, and get involved in all the #bbloggers chats on a Sunday and Wednesday evening.

Thanks!

Contour Powder on a Budget - NYX Blush in Taupe

I've had NARS Laguna on my radar for a while now, and though it looks amazing I just can't justify spending  £26 on a bronzing powder - hello budget of a 16 year old! The NYX Blush in Taupe was recommended by a friend as a good cheap contouring powder, and after trying on hers I was sold! I've only recently got round to ordering it, but couldn't wait to pop it up on here. Though it's labelled as a 'blush', the colour taupe is a matte dark grey/brown, and is perfect for under the cheek bones - lots of other products I've seen have a shimmer, which is obviously not great for contouring. Don't be scared by the swatch either - this is a lot of product to show a strong colour, it's easily blended in to become subtle. I wouldn't say it's staying power is particularly amazing, but sticks for a good 4-5 hours before fading!

The packaging, as with lots of cheaper products, isn't anything special, but contains an average amount of product (4g) and is practical and sturdy- though the addition of a mirror would have been welcomed!

To summarise, this product provides perfect under cheekbone contouring for paler skin without being orange, and is great for the budget!

The NYX Blush costs around £5.50, and I ordered mine from 123 Hair and Beauty here.

Models Own - Fruit Pastel Collection

L-R (Strawberry Tart, Apple Pie, Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin, Grape Juice)

I don't know about you but frankly I've been super impressed recently with Models Own - they seem to be bringing out new collections on an almost weekly basis and each one looks great! Recently they brought out their Ice Neon collection which looks like it would make a great addition to my collection (though I'm not sure I'd remember they were sitting in the fridge!) but this morning I've heard about their new Fruit Pastel collection - and I'm very excited!

The main USP of these polishes is that each polish has a different fruity scent related to their colour - and I can't believe no ones thought of scented nail varnishes before, it makes so much sense! I think the idea of getting a little whiff of fruity scent as you wave your nails around will make this nail varnish such a novelty!

One thing I am a little wary of is that I hope the nail varnishes do the scents justice - there's nothing good about a cheaply scented product that frankly just smells a little off - and I also hope the scent has staying power!

I will certainly be picking up a couple of these - I love the look of the Blueberry Muffin, Strawberry Tart and Banana Split, so I'll let you know how I get on with them.

Will any of you be trying the new Model's Own collections?