Lippie of the Week - No7 Moisture Drench 'Soft Cherry'

It soon rolls round to be Sunday again, and that means only one thing...it's time for my next Lippie of the Week. My lips have been really dry and sore this week so I haven't been wearing much up on my lips apart from my trusty PawPaw balm, so this week I have chosen my favourite ever lipstick to share with you. Read on to see why I love it so much.

February Beauty Favourites

So February is finally over, which means it's time for a round up of my favourite beauty items for this month. I must admit that I found it really hard to narrow it down this month as I have discovered some real gems. I've picked 5 products that range from skincare to nail polish, and here is what I have picked.

Cyclax Aloe Vera Revitalising Cream, Soap and Glory Hand Food, No7 BB Lips, Glam Polish Bellatrix and No7 Pore Vacuum Mask.

I picked this Aloe Vera cream as I have fallen in love with it again recently. I bought 2 big tubs of this when I was on holiday in Tenerife last October. They cost me just 5 Euros for 2. The Spanish seem to be really into their Aloe Vera products and they were in practically every single shop I went into. 

This cream is so moisturising and smells lovely. It sinks in really quickly so you aren't waiting around for ages before getting dressed. I love the fact that its so soothing, and its absolutely perfect for the horrible winter months. I have seen this brand in the UK before in a few random budget beauty shops, but if you come across it then I would definitely recommend picking a tub up.

I got this Soap and Glory hand cream in a gift set which I bought in the half price Boots sale after Christmas. I'm a massive fan of hand cream and have one in practically every room in the house, as well as in my handbag and on my desk at work. 

This is one of the nicest hand creams I think I have ever owned. I have tried Soap and Glory Hand Food before, but I have never owned a tube, and I already know that I will be buying another one as soon as this has gone. It sinks in so quickly, doesn't leave a horrible greasy residue on your hands like a lot of hand creams do, and it smells gorgeous. It has helped my hands so much over the past couple of months, and has really helped to keep away those dreaded dry knuckles and cuticles.

No7 BB Lips in Belle Pink might just be my favourite lip product ever. I was really sceptical when I bought it as I thought it would be just another lip gloss that I don't use, but that isn't the case at all. It is a lipstick-lipgloss hybrid and give such a beautiful subtle colouring to the lips. It's also really moisturising and doesn't completely dry my lips out like most lipsticks do. It's long lasting and doesn't have a sticky finish like most glosses. I definitely want to get more of these in some brighter colours for spring and summer.

Next is Glam Polish in Bellatrix. I wasn't 100% sure which nail product to pick as I've tried some really lovely ones this month, but this is definitely one of my favourites. Everything about it is perfect from the application to the colour. This is a great all round colour, and I will be using this again and again as a base coat for nail art. Please see below for a swatch of this polish and a beautiful macro bottle shot that I took.

You can really see the gorgeous colours come through in the macro shot.

Finally, I chose the No7 Pore Vacuum Mask. I have written a full review post about this product which you can find here. I love this product as it has really helped with my clogged pores, and has made my skin so much clearer and fresher. I have been using this once a week for the past month, and it's one of the best skincare investments that I have made.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your favourite beauty products from February? Let me know in the comments.

Sam x

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No7 Pore Vacuum Mask

I treated myself to some more new No7 products the other week as I still had a money off voucher in my purse…It would have been rude to let it go to waste, so I decided to give one of their face masks a try. I'd heard good things about their masks so was quite excited to choose one. I had a chat with the lady at the counter and explained that I have been suffering with clogged up pores recently, and she said that she had just the mask for me. 

She recommended the Beautiful Skin Pore Vacuum Mask. This product costs £14 for a 50ml bottle, which is quite pricey for a face mask, but she assured me that it was worth the money…I couldn't agree more!

As with all No7 products, it comes in really nice packaging and looks really appealing.

You get 50ml which is a fairly good size, and you don't use a lot each time.

The instructions state that you should use this product once or twice a week, and that it should be applied to the nose and forehead. It recommends leaving it to dry for 10 minutes. It also states that you should not use it if you have very dry skin.

I decided to apply it to my forehead, nose, cheek area around the nose, and my chin. My main problem areas are my cheeks and chin so I thought it wouldn't hurt to give them some TLC. I would recommend leaving this to dry for 15 minutes rather than 10 as it peels off easier when it is fully dry.

The product itself is very thick and unlike any face mask I have use before. Tar came to mind the first time I used it!

You need quite a thick layer, similar to the swatch on my hand above. The thicker the layer, the easier it comes off.

Once you have let the mask fully dry, the fun bit begins…the peeling. Now it could just be me, but I love peeling things off. It's not quite as fun as peeling PVA glue off your hands as a kid, but it's close enough! I will give you a fair warning, this does make your eyes water! I'm not going to say that it doesn't sting, because it does. This will attach itself to any fine hair on your face and tear it out. AVOID THE EYEBROWS!! It doesn't come off all in one piece, and it does take some time to get it all off, but as long as you have done that thick layer as mentioned above, you should be fine.

I know that a lot of people will be put off by the fact that it's a bit on the painful side, but for me, the results outweigh the pain factor. After the first use, my skin looked clearer and more radiant instantly. After the second use the following week, it looked even better. My pores still aren't completely unclogged but they're certainly better than they were before. My skin is much smoother and brighter, and it feels so much cleaner. I'm going to continue to use this product once a week and I imagine my skin will get better and better. I would certainly only do this once a week, I think it would be too much for your skin to do it anymore.

You can buy this product online or in Boots stores.

Have you tried this mask or anything similar before? And would you use a painful product if it worked for you? Let me know in the comments.

Sam x

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New No7 Goodies

 Hello lovelies,

Sorry I've been absent for the past week, I haven't been very well and haven't had the energy to post. Anyway, in a bid to cheer myself up, I treated myself to some new make up from my favourite brand, No7.

I have been after a new foundation for a little while now as every one I have tried in the past has never been right. The wrong shade, too heavy, too drying…the usual reasons. I did a little bit of research online and found No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation. This sounded perfect to me, as super light is what I was looking for. 

I popped into my local Boots store as I know that you can get the colour matching done as I'd previously had it done for my lipstick. The lady was extremely helpful and was happy to do the colour matching for me. My true colour is 'Calico'. Calico is the lightest shade they do, and being super pale, I wasn't surprised by this at all! ;) I mentioned the foundation that I was interested in and she very kindly offered to apply it for me so that I could make sure I was 100% happy…and I was.

The foundation really is super lightweight and incredibly blend-able. It literally melted into my skin. Not only that, but it is the perfect colour for me. As you can see from the picture below it is a really pale shade, so fellow vampire-skin girls out there, take note!

Unlike most foundations I have tried, this didn't sink straight into my pores and highlight all of the bad areas of my skin. It effortlessly sits on top on the skin, without looking like it has been caked on.

A little also seems to go a really long way which is important when it isn't the biggest bottle in the world. This product retails at £14.50 for 30ml which is rather pricey when compared to a lot of high streets brands, but I would say that it is definitely worth the money, and is so much better than foundations I have tried in the past for a similar price.

No7 have a buy one, get one half price offer running at the moment, and because I already had a £3 off voucher, I wanted to get the most that I could for my money…so I also bought a Pop & Glow Cream Blush which was recommended to me by the lady in store.

I bought this in shade 'Classic Rose'. This isn't a shade that I would normally choose for myself, but the lady applied it after my foundation and I was really impressed with how subtle and girly the colour was. I usually opt for dusky darker colours, but after trying this shade, I now know that I have been doing it wrong all these years! *Stops to cringe*

This product can be applied with either fingers or a brush. Personally I would use a brush as recommended as you have more control over how much you are putting on, and you can really blend it in. I will hopefully do a full blog post on this product when I have had a bit more time to play around with it.

The blusher retails at £9.95 but trust me when I say that you won't have to buy a new one for quite a long time to come! 

Have you got any favourite No7 products? If you have then let me know in the comments as I always love finding new products to try.

Sam x

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