Olay Skin Care

 For the past month I've been trying out a new range of skin products. I've never made that much effort with skin care, because if I'm honest I'm just too lazy. I find it's so much easier just to wipe my face with a wet wipe even though I know it isn't the best thing for my skin. I have dry/combination skin so these products are geared more towards that skin type.

Olay have a range of different collections, like Olay Essentials, Olay Total Effects, Olay Anti-wrinkle and Olay Regenerist. I wanted to try out a few of these different collections, so I could look at Olay as a whole. However, I didn't purchase any products from the Anti-winkle collection or Regenerist range because I didn't think it was necessary to buy any Anti-ageing products.

The first product I want to talk about is the Refreshing Face Wash from the Essentials range. I use this in the mornings when washing my face and apply it to a wet face, massage it into the skin and wash off with warm water. As it claims, it was refreshing and made my face feel cleansed, however it wasn't anything special. I have seen a difference in the quality of my skin and I do feel like my pores aren't as large but this hasn't reduced spots or helped much with my dry skin. But nevertheless, this product has improved the appearance of my skin.

The next product is the Day Cream. This moisturiser is part of the Essentials Double Action collection and is designed specifically for normal to dry skin. I applied this in the morning before my makeup and again in the evening when I removed my makeup. The consistency is very thick meaning it was nourishing, however this meant it was quite heavy on my face. This did prove to be one of my favourite products from this review, as it helped with some dry patches on my face. I didn't see much difference with the amount of time my makeup lasted on my face but it didn't make my makeup slide and the moisturiser itself wasn't too sticky.

This product was from a different range, which was Olay Total Effects. I've heard a lot about this range and I really wanted to try it out myself and share my opinion. They claim to do a lot, so I had high standards for these. I tried to use this every night when removing my makeup. I applied it to a cotton wool pad and scrubbed at my face in circular motions. This is much more effective than face wipes and it left my skin feeling softer and smoother. This did take some time though and I had to use around 3 cotton pads. It definitely removes most of the dirt from your face that a wet wipe wouldn't.

Lastly was the toner, which again came from the Essentials range. I applied this generously to a cotton pad after the makeup remover. This product was great for removing any extra dirt in the skin and after using my face felt fully cleansed. This also helped reduce pore size and made my skin feel much more even. It definitely did the job. I also found that it contains a lot of product and even from using it regularly over the past month there is still around 3/4 of the product left.

I would recommend trying these products out, especially if you have combination/normal/dry skin like myself. Although they take up a lot of time they are worth it in the end. These haven't helped reduce spots, so if you are looking for a product to get rid of spots then I would consider looking elsewhere. As for the complexion of my skin, these products have helped a lot with my dry, flaky areas and I have started to see real improvements.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post, and even if you don't go out and buy these products I hope you found some good skin care tips.

Gina x

Quick & Easy Autumnal Nails

Following on from my last post, these nails are an easier alternative and something fun and relatable to Autumn. I chose to involve warm colours, like the deep pink, along with the basics of black and white. The black nail varnish was in fact from a set of nail art pens and polishes called 'Igzo Nail Design.'

Again, Kyoung-Hwa kindly did my nails for me, but these can be achieved by almost anyone.

She firstly did two coats on each nail of each colour, and for the ring finger started off with a simple plain white coat.

Because Kyoung is a nail artist it was easy for her to paint the black stripes with the same black varnish used on the thumb and a normal sized nail varnish brush. However, if you aren't too confident with doing nail art (I know I'm not) then there are a lot of tools or nail art pens that you can buy that make doing things like stripes really easy and simple to do.

To finish she did a final coat of 'Rimmels Nail Rescue Varnish' to hold the colour and make my nails stronger. I used to forget this step when doing my nails, but I find now that it is really vital, as it is what creates the difference between my nail polish lasting 2 weeks rather than 2 days.

I think these nails are perfect for the colder months, but even so the colours could be substituted for pastels and brights in the spring and summer. I find that this is a really simple nail look to do for the less confident, however, it still looks moderately detailed and is more fun then a plain colour.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe even try this design out yourself! Be sure to check out my previous nail post which was slightly more creative.

Gina x

Clown Nails

For Halloween this year I decided to dress up as a clown and I chose to go full out and paint my nails accordingly. Fortunately for myself, my brother's girlfriend Kyoung-Hwa is a nail artist and lives in the same house as me, so she kindly painted them for me. I looked at a couple of photos on Pinterest and came up with the idea of colourful spots on each nail and a clown on my ring finger.

Apart from the clown, these nails are actually pretty simple to re-create. All you'd need to do is paint a white background on your nails and preferably do a couple of coats so that the polish is nice and thick. Then using any tool or object you can find of a flat circular shape you can begin to add the dots. The size of the tool you use depends on the size and diameter you want your dots. Some common house objects you can use are the bottom of a paintbrush or pencil and even the small ball on a hair grip.

I chose blue, green, yellow and pink for the dots as they all complemented one another. We didn't have a yellow nail polish at home so we used some paint instead, which worked just as well.

If you're feeling adventurous or have a very steady hand then you can try and recreate the clown. Kyoung-Hwa used a very thin paint brush for the lines and used red and black paints rather than varnishes. For the red colouring which was used to fill in gaps she used a minute nail tool which made sure every gap was coloured in.

After my nails were painted she added a hardening coat to ensure the colour lasted on my nails and it also prevented chipping. Some people like to use a base coat, but I find that varnish lasts a long time on my nails so I didn't feel that it was necessary.

Although these nails were created for Halloween, they could be painted for any fancy dress party, a carnival, festival, for an event involving any bright colours at all, and even on a normal day to add a bit of fun and colour to your nails.

Check out my next post which will feature a more casual, easy, autumnal nail design.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post or took a few ideas from it!

Gina x

Yellow Tartan OOTD

This is my first OOTD, so heres hoping you all like it!

I decided to go for a versatile look, something that could be worn throughout the day and night for a variety of occasions. It could be worn on just a normal day out shopping, or on a more casual day substituting the boots for a flat shoe. Furthermore, it could be worn on a night out as it can appear as dressy, and could even be worn to a meal. I also attempted to use colours that fitted to the Autumn season. 

Hat: Primark
Yellow cami: New Look
Tartan skirt: New Look
Leather Jacket: TXMax
Boots: TXMax
Necklace: Primark 

This yellow cami is actually really comfy with plenty of flow in it which is good as I didn't want it to be tight and I love the combination of the cami and the skirt, because the colours work well together. The most common tartan colours are those of red and greens, so I wanted to mix it up a little and try something different with yellow and navy. The skirt itself has proved popular in my wardrobe as its easy to throw in a bit of pattern and colour into an outfit without being too much. I also love the warm toned yellow in the cami, as it's easier to wear than a more vibrant cool toned yellow. 

I'm loving these hats at the moment as it adds class to an outfit and they're great on a bad hair day (which I was having on this day). I find that these hats are flattering on most people and give the appearance of longer hair, you can also get them really cheap depending on where you shop! 

These shoes are a holy grail of mine! I always turn to them if I'm wearing black tights and they can be worn in the evening and daytime, so they come in handy a lot. I love the chunky boot look, as it adds a bit of grunge to an outfit without being too over the top. Cut out boots are more interesting and make your foot look slimmer, which I suppose is a positive! Unfortunately mine are a bit scuffed and aren't in great condition. 

I decided on red nails as it went with my red lip, which I thought added more vibrant colour to this outfit. I also accessorised with a silver statement necklace and a few silver rings. I thought this was the right amount of jewellery as its easy to over do it. 

Rings on index and middle finger: Primark
Other ring: Bottlekiln

I also love the scaly, snake skin texture of the leather jacket because it gives an outfit more edge, in particular in this outfit I wanted a few different textures running through it, otherwise it can come off a little plain. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked my OOTD, and I can't wait to do more of these in the future! I also hope to get a better camera, so I apologise for the quality of some of these photo's. 

Gina x

Autumn Haul

Progressing on from my previous post, I have decided to include an Autumn haul. So, over the past few weeks/months I have been browsing the shops and have purchased a few things for the colder months, and although this is an Autumn haul most of these clothes will last me through winter. I have used a bit of inspiration from my mood boards, however some of these are just random buys.

Firstly there are these two high neck crop tops. I don't usually wear high neck tops as I find them uncomfortable, but the fabric on these two was so soft and stretchy that they didn't clench too tight at my neck. Both of these colours too are perfect for Autumn and can be paired with pretty much anything as they're simple and plain.

Burgandy high neck crop top - Topshop £10
Green high neck crop top - Topshop £10

Here we have another high neck crop top. I found that these colours although are quite bright and summery are good transition colours from summer to autumn as it includes orange and warmer tones. I also find that these tops are flattering around the shoulder area. The other tops and cami's are basics, as I never know when I'm going to need plain colours in an outfit. I also find that they're good for comfort. As i've mentioned before stripes are a must have all year round.

Blue and orange crop top - River Island £12
White cami top - Topshop £6
Stripy cami top - Primark £2

Grey t-shirt - Primark £3
White long sleeved t-shirt - Primark £3

This yellow cami really stood out for me as yellow is one of my favourite colours and this yellow in particular was more of a warmer yellow that I thought would fit right into A/W. The blouse was a much needed piece that can go with almost anything to be dressed up or down as mentioned in my last post. This navy skirt was a random buy but I know I will get a lot of wear out of it as I find navy is a colour that suits me and midi skirts are also really flattering. The green shift dress was possibly one of my favourite purchases. The bottle green colour is definitely my favourite this autumn (and you've probably heard that enough times already), again because its plain it can just be thrown on on a lazy day or decorated with a scarf, belt and some jewellery when going out. Not only that, but it was such a bargain at £5!

Yellow cami - New look £9.99
White Blouse - Primark £9

Navy Skirt - Primark £8
Green shift dress - Primark £5

I decided to get myself a pair of ripped jeans as it gives me a bit more variety rather than wearing my black skinny jeans all the time. They also give off a more casual look. The tartan skirt really stood out for me and I think it will go great with the yellow cami. The scarf looked really 'autumny' to me and I thought it would be nice to add to a boring, plain outfit. The wool cardigan was really warm and cosy and so I thought it would be perfect in the colder months!

Aztec print scarf- Primark £4
Black wool cardigan- Primark £12

MOTO ripped stone wash jamie jeans- Topshop £42
Yellow tartan skirt - New look £14.99

       



























Onto accessories! I got myself a floppy hat which I'm so glad about! I was debating getting it for about half an hour until a woman came over to me and told me it suited me and that I should go for it seeing as I'm young. I thought that was really cute and was what tipped me over to buying it. These scrunchies were too cheap and cute for me to resist and I tried to go with an autumn colour theme. I'm so happy with my bag and purse and they were such a great offer! As I've said before I love black bags and although the purse isn't matching its close enough!

Floppy hat- Primark £7
Arrangement of scrunchies- Luvyababes £1 each

Bag- TXMax £32.99
Purse- TXMax £7.99

So, this is some of the jewellery that I've bought over the past few months. The pandora ring was actually a present in April, so I've kind of cheated it into this autumn haul, but I wear it so often it managed to sneak it's way in! In autumn I find that I wear a lot of black so this triangle earring set appealed to me. The 5 rings came as a set and were so cheap I couldn't resist. I love ring sets too, I think it's really pretty to wear an assortment of rings on your fingers. The last set of earrings are abit more glamorous, but I really liked the combination of navy and gold.

Pandora December ring- Pandora £40
Black triangle earrings- Primark £3
Silver ring set- Primark £2.50
Navy and gold earrings- Primark £3

I've been needing a statement necklace that goes with everything and is quite simple and plain for a while now! I wanted something that was really variable so it would work on a glamorous night out but would also look good with a plain t-shirt and jeans. I decided that silver was the best colour for this and it suits my complexion better. I thought this did the job at a cheap price as well!

Silver necklace- Primark £4

Finally, these are the two coats that I bought for A/W this year. The first is either a love or hate piece, but I fell in love with it! Lilac is one of my favourite colours and quilts are really coming into trend this season. The only issue with this coat is that it makes a lot of noise whenever I move and it sounds like I'm wearing paper! But nonetheless, its waterproof as well as a great fit. This next coat is amazing and such a bargain! It's exactly what I've been looking for a while now and its so warm but can become itchy if you have it on against skin, so I make sure I'm wearing something long sleeved underneath.

Lilac quilted mac- Topshop £55

Grey A-line coat- TXMax £45

And that's all for my Autumn haul! I hope that this gave you a few idea's or if not then I hope you find some nice buys for A/W. Thank you for reading!

Gina x