Ren rose centifolia no.1 purity cleansing balm

The Ren rose centifolia cleansing balm has become a favourite among my cleansers over the past couple of months, I start by rubbing it between my hands to thin out the consistency and heat it up so it's more of an oil and apply it to dry skin and massage in for a couple of minutes, next I wet my hands slightly then continue to massage into my skin because once the product makes contact with water it turns into a rich milk, I then wipe away with a warm flannel and it removes any traces of makeup or dirt that has been left behind on my skin. I've noticed especially in the mornings when I use this that my pores look smaller and my skin looks glowy and because of the rich balm texture and ingredients my skin is left feeling super soft, after it has been washed off you're not left with residue on your skin which is always a plus in my eyes.

Ren proudly state that the Ren rose centifolia cleansing balm contains no: Parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance or colours, t.e.a, d.e.a, glycols, silicones or pegs at all so it doesn't have any nasties in there that are bad for your skin. instead is has extracts of camomile oil which is calming and soothing on the skin and lecithin which helps your skin retain moisture and rose oil which is what I can smell the most in this product.

One of the downfalls of this product is that Ren claims that you can use this product to remove even waterproof mascara so you would assume that this could be used around the eyes, correct? well whenever I have cleansed my face with this, afterwards my eyes sting which goes away after a minute or so but I have read reviews where other people have said the exact same thing, I thought that this was due to the fragrance ingredient but apparently all fragrances are 100% natural in the cleanser so I'm a little bit stumped as to what causes it? also I just want to point out that I bought the cleansing balm in tube form because I thought it would be easy to control and squeeze out but is true after a while but as first the product is extremely difficult to get out because the balm is quite thick and hard to work down the tube, and for some reason the cap is a pain in the backside to close? you get 100ml of product for £23 in tube form or 150ml of product in a tub for £30.

Due to the fact that this does sting my eyes, I don't think I will be repurchasing because I'm sure there are better cleansing balms out there for around the same price that are kinder towards the eyes.

What's your favourite type of cleanser?

Top 10 products under £10

Bourjois cream blusher 02 healthy glow - this is a beautiful peachy coral blush that really does make you look more awake and healthy. I mainly use this on days where I want to wear less makeup as it does a dandy job of brightening my face up.

Barry M gelly highshine nail polish - this is an unbeatable nail polish formula from the highstreet in my opinion, one coat gives your opaque, glossy nails that lasts a good 4 days chip free on my nails.

EOS lip balm 'soft mint' - these are becoming more available in the UK now yay! this is my daytime lip balm as the mint gives a cooling effect and the lipbalm itself is very moisturising and not glossy on the lips.

Maybelline colour tattoo 'on and on bronze' - my perfect base for a bronze smokey eye, it makes the eyeshadows I apply on top of it more vibrant and it looks gorgeous on it's on when you want to do a super simple makeup look.

Rimmel stay matte powder - I think everyone and their mum has this powder in their collection and for good reason, it's a good cheap powder that lasts a long time on the skin. I mainly use this to set my t-zone as that's the oiliest part of my face.

MUA undress me too palette - A naked 2 palette dupe and a very good one that that. for only £4 you get 12 highly pigmented eyeshadows that have good staying powder say what? I actually often reach for this over my urban decay naked 2 palette...

Maybelline lasting drama gel eyeliner - I have been using this eyeliner for over 2 years and always go back to it, no matter how many other eyeliners I buy this one comes out on top. it's an intense, long lasting black eyeliner that lasts all day, perfect!

Revlon colourstay matte balm 'elusive' - This has to be one of my favourite launches of 2014 so far, yet I only have one shade? crazy crazy crazy! this is the perfect everyday pink lipstick that has a matte finish and doesn't dry out your lips. I'm a huge fan of the jumbo lip pencil style lipsticks as they're fool proof to apply.

Bourjois rouge edition velvet lipstick - okay, this is a bit of a cheat because I haven't had this product for very long but holy cow these are so long lasting and pigmented. this is a liquid lipstick that dries down to a vibrant matte finish and I'm slightly obsessed. I want all of the other shades but i'm trying not to spend money because i'm doing a lot of driving lessons and saving for a car. I WILL own them all! this IS my favourite launch of 2014 so far sorry matte balms!

Rimmel wake me up foundation - This is my perfect glowy summer foundation, it's medium coverage and makes you look really awake... hence the name of the product. I've repurchased this over and over again and I think I will until they discontinue it.

The hangover face

These are a selection of products I like to use the day after the night before... you know when you've been drinking and the next day your face looks in the nicest way possible crap. the alcohol sucks all moisture out of my skin and makes me look dull. after i've cleansed my face I spritz my face with the botanics organic rosewater toning spritz  which is refreshing and hydrating and generally a pleasure to use to make you feel more awake. the botanics rosewater toning spritz makes me feel more awake but the body shop vitamin C energising face spritz brightens up my face when I look dull and gives it a little bit more life and I don't have to bother with cotton fool pads, I can just spray it on and carry on to the next step. to put a bit of moisture back into my skin I use the origins drink up 10 minute mask to help hydrate my skin and give it the boost it needs. I always have to have some form of lip balm on my lips and today I have chosen the nuxe reve de miel as it's my most hydrating one I own and smells gorgeous. I'm currently sat in bed wearing my glasses watching rise of the guardians and writing up blog posts for next week as I have most of my deadlines due then.

NOTD | Nails Inc Piccadilly circus

Can I just say that I have never done a nails of the day post before because my nail shape is generally appalling, add my nails healing from the dreaded acrylics into the mix and it's not a good look. A new rule come into my work the other day saying we are now allowed to wear any colour nail polish as long as it's not chipped and i'm so beyond happy about this as i've had to wear nude colours on my nails for so long as I find it too much hassling constantly changing my nail colour between work and my free time.

I'm going out tomorrow night and decided that nails inc piccadilly circus would look lovely as I feel it makes my hands look slightly more tanned even though the picture isn't doing that point justice. typical. I know everyone's currently wearing pastel nail polishes as it's now spring but I find that pastels just don't suit me, which certainly sucks. piccadilly circus is a beautiful dark pinky red that's really flattering on the nails. yes, it is more of an autumn/winter colour but hey who cares! i'm wearing two coats of this polish in the photos with no top coat and you can see that it has a glossy finish.

Top tips for clearer skin

• deep cleansing/clay mask! these will help draw any impurities and grime from your skin leaving it refreshed and clearer looking.
  
  
• wash your face in the shower! I think that this is really important and I have noticed a big difference in my skin since I have included this step into my showering routine. ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner can clog up your skin if you don't wash your face after washing your hair.
  
  
• wash your face first thing in the morning! so you wash away any dirt that has gotten onto your skin over night and this also preps your skin for makeup.
  
  
• double cleanse your skin! at night time I use an oil to take my makeup off, after this step my face looks clean but in reality I have just washed off the makeup and not cleansed my skin, so I then go onto using a different cleanser to wash my face and this will also get rid of any last scraps of makeup that the oil failed the remove, you will be surprised at how much makeup can still come off your face during this step.
  
  
• do not touch your face! if you're constantly touching your face then you can spread the oils and dirt from your hands onto your face which clogs your pores, causeing breakouts. I used to touch my face a lot when I had breakouts but I made a conscious effort to stop and my face is now surprisingly clear. this also includes picking at breakouts, do not touch those bad boys as they can leave behind scars which will take a lot longer to fade than the breakout itself.
  
  
• clean your makeup brushes! think of the bacteria and dirt that has built up on them if you don't wash them regularly? these brushes will then be going onto your face and spreading that nasty bacteria and that can cause breakouts. gross.
  
  
• exfoliating your skin! this can get rid of any dead skin and remove dirt from pores, all of this will make your skin look and feel smoother. do not over exfoliate your skin though as it can be damaging. I typically manually exfoliate my skin once a week and use a chemical exfoliator at night. 

I would also just like to make a point by saying that products that may work for others may not necessarily work for you, as they could have a different skin type to you. identify what type of skin you have (normal/oily/combination/dry) and research into what products and ingredients best work for that skin type as you may currently be using products that don't work for you skin. for example if you have dry skin try to avoid foaming cleansers as they typically strip the skin and dry it out as they're most commonly tailored towards people with oily skin, therefore it will make your skin even dryer. I personally hate foam cleansers and think they're way too stripping even on oily skin types. also, just because you have oily skin doesn't mean you should avoid products with oil in them as they could help with other skin problems such as fading scarring, try to find products that work for your skin type, not others.

Spring lipstick picks

Girls, it's time to put down those dark lipsticks and hunt around in your stash for something a little bit lighter. I would like to say that the weather is warming up but we had about 3 days of beautiful warm sunshine, with british weather you never know if it's going to be warm one day, or raining the next, but the flowers are out and the days are getting longer so in the hopes of warm weather creeping up on us i'd like to share my spring lip picks!

Collection cream puff 'fairy cake': a matte lipstick? they're pretty much the only type I wear so this shouldn't be a surprise! I like that this has a... doe foot? applicator much like a lipgloss which makes it easy to apply and get precision lines. fairy cake is a slightly more coral option than my other two picks.

Bourjois colour boost glossy finish lipstick 'fuchsia libre': a slightly more glossy option with a sheerer finish, this is a blue toned pink that's surprisingly long lasting. I personally prefer a more matte lip option most of the time but in the bourjois colour boost lip crayons I can make an exception, they're lovely!

Revlon colourstay matte balm 'elusive': I'm a big fan of lip pencils, they are by far my favourite type of lipsticks that I have tried. since dying my hair lighter I have found that I can get away with lighter lipsticks than I normally would have. this is the perfect mid tone pink in my eyes and has quickly become one of my favourite lipsticks, it's perfect for the skin and the matte formula makes it long lasting.

what are your spring lipstick picks?