So, you've probably noticed that my blog is looking a little the worse for wear. I'm in the process of revamping it, but it's taking some time.. hopefully soon it'll look as pretty as the products described on it!
In other news, POIDH... I'm on the hunt for a camera, nothing too fancy (the budget of a student, eh?), if you know of anything good/inexpensive, let me know!!
Apologies for the brevity of this post, but I'm off to get my hair cut.
Tallis xo
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Tuesday 12 February 2013
The Skincare.
Something that has always confounded me when it comes to beauty bloggers (and women in general to some extent) is why they invest huge amounts of money and time in skincare and then spend even more money and time on makeup with which to cover up. It defies all logic. I understand that in order to make your make up look good, you need a good base to work on, but I feel that we take it too far. So, I don't wear face make up. Sure, I'll wear some mascara and I can't resist a nice lipstick, but nothing more. No foundation, no BB creams or tinted moisturisers, no powders or concealers or anything like that. Instead, I focus on skin care and cleansing and leave it at that.
For a long, long time, I've been faithful to Liz Earle. The Cleanse & Polish, the toner, the moisturiser, the exfoliator, all had their place in my skin routine which was very simple. But recently I've been branching out. To give you a bit of background, I've never had really bad skin, but it's never entirely clear for more than a few days before a spot crops up somewhere. At the moment I'm using the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Rose and Lavender Special Edition because I don't have any of the normal one and I got a bulk supply of the limited edition version for Christmas. It's lovely. As I said, I never believed that my skin was in particularly bad condition, but oh, how wrong I was! After introducing a few new products (all holy grails in the beauty world), my skin has gone from strength to strength.
First off, I invested in the Emma Hardie *insert longest product name in the world here* Cleansing Balm. I started out with a sample size just to see whether my skin would like it and it did. I decided winter was the best time to try it out because between freezing temperatures, winds and constant central heating, my skin gets extremely dehydrated. As much as I wanted to love the cleansing balm which is infused with moringa extract, I just can't. I do really, really kind it, but I don't love it. Sure, it added some hydration back into my skin, but it didn't do much else. I also think it was a bit too heavy for my skin and added to my blemishes rather than evicting them. When I use Liz Earle, my skin always looks refreshed and the redness of spots is calmed down, but with the EH, it just looked clean. I do have a bit left so I'm using it rather as a mask that a cleanser and after twenty minutes, I wash it off with hot water to reveal plumper, softer skin.
One thing I did love and have added into my skincare routine is the EH cloth. The (deep breath) Emma Hardie Amazing Face Dual Action Professional Cleansing Cloths (phew!) retain heat much better than the Liz Earle muslin cloths, and while an ordinary flannel is probably just as good, they're a nice way to add a little luxury to your cleansing routine.
Next up, Alpha-H Liquid Gold. I have read about this numerous times on Ruth Crilly's blog and so I was really excited when I saw it was on special on QVC. It's basically a resurfacing treatment full of glycolic acid (don't be frightened!) and fruit enzymes which is left on the skin overnight and by morning reveals a new layer of skin. What can I say other than Liquid Gold lives up to its name. After the first use my skin looked less congested and after a few more uses, I realise just what a state my poor face was in! A fortnight on, my skin is radiant and bright and there's not a spot in sight. I'm only using it twice a week and I'll probably cut it down to once a week soon as I'm in my early twenties and don't think my skin needs too much exfoliation.
As with any resurfacing products, you absolutely must use a moisturiser with SPF in the days after using Liquid Gold. You should really use an SPF all the time as the sun really isn't all that kind to your skin. Finding a moisturiser that contained SPF and didn't break my bank balance was not an easy task. I didn't want to fork out on what others called a great product only to have it break me out, and it's quite hard to find any kind of facial moisturisers around for under a tenner. I settled on the Superdrug Simply Pure SPF15 Face Cream for the bargain price of £2.59. It's not amazingly hydrating so on days when I feel my skin needs a little extra, I mix it with a bit of my Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser (Dry/Sensitive) (which is also what I use at night if my skin feels a little tight, otherwise I'll leave it bare so it can breathe a little).
With my current cleansing routine, my skin is quite happy. It's clear, radiant, blackheads are fast diminishing and spots are becoming a thing of the past. I feel happy and confident in my skin and see no reason to hide it under makeup. Sure, I've still got a few scars from blemishes, but my skin is mine, scars, discolouration and all. And I think it's a testament to all the products I use on it that I don't feel the need to cover it up or enhance it in any way.
My skin routine isn't that complicated and there are still a few things missing. I'd like to find a great SPF moisturiser (feel free to leave suggestions), and I'm itching to try out the La Roche Posay Effeclar Duo just because so many others have raved about it and I think it might make my skin even better. Adding in a few more masks (real ones) might be nice too, and if you want some suggestions then check out Vivianna's post and her video both of which contain some lovely things.
Why do/don't you wear make up?
Tallis xo
For a long, long time, I've been faithful to Liz Earle. The Cleanse & Polish, the toner, the moisturiser, the exfoliator, all had their place in my skin routine which was very simple. But recently I've been branching out. To give you a bit of background, I've never had really bad skin, but it's never entirely clear for more than a few days before a spot crops up somewhere. At the moment I'm using the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Rose and Lavender Special Edition because I don't have any of the normal one and I got a bulk supply of the limited edition version for Christmas. It's lovely. As I said, I never believed that my skin was in particularly bad condition, but oh, how wrong I was! After introducing a few new products (all holy grails in the beauty world), my skin has gone from strength to strength.
First off, I invested in the Emma Hardie *insert longest product name in the world here* Cleansing Balm. I started out with a sample size just to see whether my skin would like it and it did. I decided winter was the best time to try it out because between freezing temperatures, winds and constant central heating, my skin gets extremely dehydrated. As much as I wanted to love the cleansing balm which is infused with moringa extract, I just can't. I do really, really kind it, but I don't love it. Sure, it added some hydration back into my skin, but it didn't do much else. I also think it was a bit too heavy for my skin and added to my blemishes rather than evicting them. When I use Liz Earle, my skin always looks refreshed and the redness of spots is calmed down, but with the EH, it just looked clean. I do have a bit left so I'm using it rather as a mask that a cleanser and after twenty minutes, I wash it off with hot water to reveal plumper, softer skin.
One thing I did love and have added into my skincare routine is the EH cloth. The (deep breath) Emma Hardie Amazing Face Dual Action Professional Cleansing Cloths (phew!) retain heat much better than the Liz Earle muslin cloths, and while an ordinary flannel is probably just as good, they're a nice way to add a little luxury to your cleansing routine.
Next up, Alpha-H Liquid Gold. I have read about this numerous times on Ruth Crilly's blog and so I was really excited when I saw it was on special on QVC. It's basically a resurfacing treatment full of glycolic acid (don't be frightened!) and fruit enzymes which is left on the skin overnight and by morning reveals a new layer of skin. What can I say other than Liquid Gold lives up to its name. After the first use my skin looked less congested and after a few more uses, I realise just what a state my poor face was in! A fortnight on, my skin is radiant and bright and there's not a spot in sight. I'm only using it twice a week and I'll probably cut it down to once a week soon as I'm in my early twenties and don't think my skin needs too much exfoliation.
As with any resurfacing products, you absolutely must use a moisturiser with SPF in the days after using Liquid Gold. You should really use an SPF all the time as the sun really isn't all that kind to your skin. Finding a moisturiser that contained SPF and didn't break my bank balance was not an easy task. I didn't want to fork out on what others called a great product only to have it break me out, and it's quite hard to find any kind of facial moisturisers around for under a tenner. I settled on the Superdrug Simply Pure SPF15 Face Cream for the bargain price of £2.59. It's not amazingly hydrating so on days when I feel my skin needs a little extra, I mix it with a bit of my Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser (Dry/Sensitive) (which is also what I use at night if my skin feels a little tight, otherwise I'll leave it bare so it can breathe a little).
With my current cleansing routine, my skin is quite happy. It's clear, radiant, blackheads are fast diminishing and spots are becoming a thing of the past. I feel happy and confident in my skin and see no reason to hide it under makeup. Sure, I've still got a few scars from blemishes, but my skin is mine, scars, discolouration and all. And I think it's a testament to all the products I use on it that I don't feel the need to cover it up or enhance it in any way.
My skin routine isn't that complicated and there are still a few things missing. I'd like to find a great SPF moisturiser (feel free to leave suggestions), and I'm itching to try out the La Roche Posay Effeclar Duo just because so many others have raved about it and I think it might make my skin even better. Adding in a few more masks (real ones) might be nice too, and if you want some suggestions then check out Vivianna's post and her video both of which contain some lovely things.
Why do/don't you wear make up?
Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.
― Gwyneth Paltrow
Tallis xo
Sunday 10 February 2013
The Fresh Start.
Well hello there!
My name's Tallis and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. In life I've been incredibly lucky. I've managed to realise quite a few of my dreams (ok, so marrying Johnny Depp is still on the to-do list but bear with me) and everything is generally quite good. Too many people seem to take the littlest things for granted and overlook little pleasures which I think are the points of out very own Seurats. So, my intention with this blog is to write about the things I like in an effort to bring a little optimism back into the world.
Now my name isn't really Tallis, if it was I'd be very happy indeed. I swiped it from Atonement which is one of my favourite books and films ever. As this is a glass-half-full type of blog, I'm using a name I love dearly because in my head it's what Alice would become when she grew up and moved back to Wonderland.
I'll be back soon with my first proper post., until then, I'll leave you with some wise words from a French poet I adore:
Tallis xo
My name's Tallis and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. In life I've been incredibly lucky. I've managed to realise quite a few of my dreams (ok, so marrying Johnny Depp is still on the to-do list but bear with me) and everything is generally quite good. Too many people seem to take the littlest things for granted and overlook little pleasures which I think are the points of out very own Seurats. So, my intention with this blog is to write about the things I like in an effort to bring a little optimism back into the world.
Now my name isn't really Tallis, if it was I'd be very happy indeed. I swiped it from Atonement which is one of my favourite books and films ever. As this is a glass-half-full type of blog, I'm using a name I love dearly because in my head it's what Alice would become when she grew up and moved back to Wonderland.
I'll be back soon with my first proper post., until then, I'll leave you with some wise words from a French poet I adore:
Now and then it's good to pause the pursuit of happiness and just be happy.–Guillaume Apollinaire
Tallis xo
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