January Favourites

Good afternoon! Here we are already, the last few days of January, which also means the first favourites blog post of the year! I've been enjoying quite a range of things this month, like clothes, skincare and books. I thought I would share them with you so you could try them out, as everything I mention is definitely worth picking up in my opinion!

I'll begin with everything in the clothing category. I picked up this jumper from New Look for £5.99! I had been given a gift card for Christmas so I checked out the sale items online so I could make the most of it. I didn't expect much from this jumper given the price, however when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised! It's a cropped style, the sleeves are wide, and it's a gorgeous nude colour. I've also been loving these Jamie jeans from Topshop which were £45. I am a huge fan of Topshop jeans (minus the price), but these made me fall in love with them all over again! I'm not sure what it is, they are just so flattering! Lastly I thought I would mention my Doc Martens which were £100 from Schuh. Admittedly, they are well loved and covered in mud. I think a quality pair of boots like these are an essential for this time of year, because they are perfect for January weather!

Next up I'll talk about the products in the skincare/haircare category. I've been obsessed with these Nicky Clarke straighteners, which I picked up from Boots at the reduced price of £39.99 (previously they were around the £80 mark). As someone who uses heat on their hair everyday, these were a total game changer for me. They leave the hair smooth, and there is different settings for different hair types which I think is a great idea! The second product in this category is this St Ives face scrub that I got from Superdrug for £3.99. I was shopping with a friend and in need of a new face wash when she recommended this to me. I find it really satisfying to use, you can literally feel it removing old skin and afterwards your skin is left silky smooth!

Onto the final category, reading. I am in love with poetry; two poetry books I have been enjoying this month are Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and Love and Space Dust by David Jones (£6.99 from Amazon). For me, poetry is the ultimate expression of emotion, and these books definitely fit into that idea. Milk and Honey is the better known of the two, but I had been following David’s social media for a while and knew I would love this book of his! Milk and Honey had me in tears, it is such a life changing book which I brought for £7.99 of Amazon. I have also been loving Bloom by Estee Lalonde, which I purchased from Amazon for £12.99. It is so easy to dip in and out off, it truly is the most beautiful book, both in its words and appearance. I love Estee’s YouTube so I knew I had to pick up this book when I heard about it, and it most certainly did not disappoint!

There we go, that's a roundup of everything I've been loving this month! I hope you enjoyed reading this, be sure to let me know what you've been enjoying throughout January. Don't forget to follow my social media to keep up with my blog posts; my Twitter is @gracedoesbeauty and my Instagram is gracedoesbeautyxoxo. Enjoy your weekend!

My Morning And Evening Skincare Routine

Hello! I hope you're having a lovely, relaxing weekend. Is it just me or has this month been even colder than December? However, this means more time spent curled up on the sofa with my cat, browsing Bloglovin’, so who am I to complain. I actually made a New Year's resolution to do my morning and evening skincare routine every day, as admittedly I tend to slack! I thought I would show you my current skincare routine, what I do at the start and the end of each day.

I'll start with my morning skincare routine. I begin by using the Clean & Clear Advantage Oil Control Cream Wash, I wet my face with warm water and spread a thin layer over my face and neck, before wiping it off with a damp flannel. Once I've dried my face and décolletage, I use one of my Simple Spotless Skin Quick Fix Wipes to remove any of the left behind face wash and to generally freshen up. Next I grab a cotton wool bud and squeeze some of my Simple Kind To Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion onto it. Once that has sunk into my skin, I use a small amount of the Boots Botanics Cleansing Toner. I finish off with my Simple Soothing Eye Balm and my Simple Revitalising Eye Roll On, dark circles are my downfall so I always pay extra attention to this area.

Onto my evening skincare routine. The first step I take to remove my make up is the Boots Botanics Gentle Cleansing Cream which I apply to a cotton wool pad and rub over my face. After that I use the Garnier Fresh Eye Makeup Remover, I wear so much eye makeup I often feel like it's never really off, however this removes all traces of eyeliner and mascara. Thirdly, I wipe the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water over my face to remove the makeup from my face. The last step I take in removing my makeup is using a Simple Spotless Skin Quick Fix Cleansing Wipe to remove any final traces of make up. Next I use these two face washes; Simple Kind To Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion and then the Clean & Clear  Advantage Oil Control Cream Wash. Next, I use cotton pads to apply the Simple Kind To Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion and the Boots Botanics Cleansing Toner. Finally, I use the Simple Soothing Eye Balm and the Simple Revitalising Roll on.

There we are, that's my current skincare routine! I hope you enjoyed finding out about the products I use each and every day. What are the products that you use in your morning and evening skincare routine? Don't forget to follow up me on social media so you can keep up with my blog posts: @gracedoesbeauty (Twitter) and gracedoesbeautyxoxo (Instagram). Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What I Got For Christmas

Hey everyone, I hope you've had a good week! I know this post is a bit late but it's something I really wanted to do. A little disclaimer, I'm not doing this is any way to boast, I just genuinely enjoy reading these posts myself so I thought I would give it a go myself. I'm not going to go through everything I got, just a few bits that I feel I can say something about. Anyway, let's get to it!

First let's get to the clothes. I got a adorable pair of dinosaur slippers from New Look, they are so cosy! I have lived in these since Christmas, as soon as I get home I slip them on. The colours are like a dream too, pastel pink and sparkly purple! Next, of course, I got some fluffy socks! Is it really Christmas if you don't get some soft socks from Primark? Another lovely thing I got, which is also from Primark, was a gorgeous nightie. I think it looks so much more expensive, not that I'm dissing Primark because I love it! It has a lace trim at the top and is a really flattering shape. I also got a sophisticated striped polo neck from Dorothy Perkins. The stripes are white and brown/purple, I have a weakness for roll necks, they are definitely one of my staples! I was given a voucher for Asos, I decided to try out some of their jeans. I was not disappointed! I have always sworn by Topshop jeans and worm them religiously, but these are a new firm favourite! At £25, they are nearly half the price!

Next let's talk about makeup and hair items! I got these Nicky Clarke Diamond Shine Pro straighteners - Wow is all I can say! Up until receiving these I had been using some cheaper ones, but I am definitely converted! I straighten my hair every day, even before school, and I only ever have a few minutes to do my hair. With these I can straighten my hair in less than five minutes, whereas before it took 15 at least. There are five settings, for the different hair types. You don't need to preheat these, as they reach salon temperatures in seconds! Before I found my hair would frizz when I straightened it, but I don't find that with these Nicky Clarke ones which is great! Another present I was lucky enough to receive was this Roberto Cavalli Nero Assoluto Perfume. It's such a mature scent, I'm in love with it! Definitely worth trying if your aren't too keen on floral scents or overly feminine perfume. The last product I thought I would mention in this category is the Bare Minerals Lash Domination Eyeliner and Mascara. I've tried this mascara before and thought it was fab, so I have high hopes for the eyeliner! I wear eyeliner basically everyday, so this was the perfect present for me! Both are full sized too.

Thirdly, let's move onto the bath and body products! I got some scrumptiously scented Lush items; the Candy Mountains Bubble Bar and the Snow Fairy body wash. I've heard so many positive things about Snow Fairy, and I know for a fact I'll love the bubble bar! Come to think of it, I've tried Lush bath bombs before but
never a bubble bar, so I can't wait to try this. Everytime I go into my room I can smell the Candy Mountains too! I was gifted the Soap and Glory Take Your Pink; which includes the Clean On Me creamy clarifying shower gel, the Scrub Of Your Life body buffer, The Righteous Butter body butter, Hand Food hydrating hand cream and the Super-sudsy shower puff. Who doesn't enjoy getting Soap and Glory sets? Another set I got was the Sanctuary Brimming Full Of Happiness gift; this set includes the Green Lemon & Orange Blossom Body Wash, Body Scrub and Body Lotion. All three of them are full sized bottles too! I got this Buttercream Dream Mud, I haven't tried this one before but I've tried others are they are great! They remind me of having pamper evenings with my friends when I was younger, I can still remember how soft they made my skin feel! I also got this cute Baylis & Harding Beauticology Toy Soldier Cosy Night In Gift Set. I think this is such a nice idea! The set includes a Strawberry Candy Cane Body Wash, a Vanilla Frosting Hand & Body Lotion and the super cute red and white stripy soldier hot water bottle cover! I received this Simple Cleansing Oil, which I am super excited to try because I have been recommended it. I swear by Simple skincare, and it is the main skincare range that I use. The last thing I thought I would mention in this category is this Primark bath wrap. I spend 90% of my life in the bath, so I thought this was a great idea. It's basically a mini dress made out of towel material with two spaghetti straps. It's ingenious! It covers all the important bits but is light enough to allow you to multitask whilst wearing it.

Right, onto the last part. This is a combination of different things that wouldn't fit into the other categories. I was lucky enough to get my hands on some books that had been on my wish list for ages; Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur , Love and Space Dust by David Jones and Bloom by Estee Lalonde. I have read the first two, which are both beautiful poetry books, in a few hours. I am reading Bloom currently and am really enjoying it, it's such an aesthetically pleasing and positive yet down to earth book! I also got this lovely candle by Voluspa. I actually smelt it whilst I was out Christmas shopping with my mum, and I couldn't believe it when I opened it up on Christmas Day! Now, I thought I would leave the best till last...I went to a pet shop a few days before Christmas and pickled my beautiful budgie, Tooticky! He is just the most beautiful shades of blue, as soon as I laid my eyes on him I knew he was the one. I had wanted a budgie for the past year, yet I still couldn't believe it when I took him home. Alongside beauty, animals are another passion of mine. I am extremely grateful to my parents for getting me my beautiful boy!

Well, I think by far this is my longest post to date! I hope you enjoyed reading this! Keep up with my social media to find out when I next post - @gracedoesbeauty on Twitter and gracedoesbeautyxoxo on Instagram. Have a great weekend!

Empties

Good evening everyone, happy new year! Over the past few months I have accumulated quite a few empties, so today I thought I would share them with you. They range from lip balms to bath products to skincare. Without further ado, let's get started!

First of all I'll talk about the lip products, this nspa Coconut Lip Shine, which was a gift I received last year, feels like a luxury on the lips. It's great to use just before you go to sleep for deep hydration. The other lip product empty is my trusty Vaseline, in Original, which was a £1. I literally cannot live without this, it's a lifesaver for dry lips. I think I would be horrified if I knew how many tins I had been through or how many times I slathered this on throughout the day!

Next up is my bath products empties. If you've read my previous blog posts you may have already heard me talk about this - The Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo & Conditioner. This is my favourite shampoo and conditioner duo, it suits my straight, thick hair very well. Also, they are £2 each, which isn't bad! Another one of my bath empties is the Palmolive Naturals shower milk, which is a bargain at just £1! This leaves my sensitive skin SO soft after every use!

Now onto the skincare empties. I love these Simple Spotless Skin Quick Fix Cleansing Wipes, £3. These face wipes even remove waterproof mascara! These are my favourite face wipes, I would choose them over any other. Secondly is the Garnier Fresh Eye makeup remover (£3.49). I wear so much eye makeup on a day to day basis, I'm never without my cat winged eyeliner and thick lashings of mascara! This is the only product I can use that truly make me feel like I am rid of all traces of eye makeup. My last skincare product is this amie Naturally Kind Deep Cleansing Mask, £5.95. You can literally feel this working when you put it onto your face! It has natural extracts that are skin friendly which is another bonus.

Lastly, here are a few bits that wouldn't really fit into any of the other categories. This is a bit random, but I couldn't not include it; Sudocrem antiseptic healing cream, £2.99. I always have a pot of this in my draw somewhere. It's a lifesaver when it comes to spots, blisters, shaving cuts...Everyone should have a pot of this! Finally is the Salt Of The Earth unscented natural deodorant, £4. This is the only anti perspirant I can use on my sensitive skin that doesn't sting my underarms. It's also not tested on animals!

Wow, congratulations if you made it to this point! Thank you for reading, what are you recent empties that you've loved (or hated)? Keep up with me on my social media: @gracedoesbeauty (Twitter) and gracedoesbeautyxoxo (Instagram). Enjoy your weekend!