Weekly DIY Facial #5

Anything that has been gifted to me is marked with a *

Have you entered my NAYA skincare bundle here?

You'll notice from the photo above that this week's facial is mainly Omorovicza products and that's purely because it's my favourite brand and it would be a dream to have an Omorovicza facial - until that's possible, I decided to try to do it myself! This week (as with most weeks), I focused on trying to achieve bright and hydrated skin.

Has lockdown made you reassess how much you spend on professional beauty treatments?

Have you entered my NAYA skincare bundle here?

I must admit that the first person I'd like to see after lockdown is completely lifted (and when safe to do so), is my hairdresser! I don't think that I'm too high maintenance in the beauty treatment stakes - I have only ever had my nails done twice in my life - just after we got engaged and for our wedding, and even then it was just a french manicure - no gels, acrylics, powders or whatever other form they come in! I can't remember the last time I went for a facial or a spray tan, but I do get waxed - purely because I don't think I could do that to my delicate parts myself! I also used to get my brows done, but this will now change......

My favourite discoveries from the first six months of 2020

Have you entered my NAYA skincare bundle here?

What a six months it's been, eh? Never in our wildest dreams/nightmares would we have believed 2020 would be the way it has been. As always, I try to keep things positive and am sharing all of the great beauty products that I have discovered so far this year! Get comfy, because there are quite a few! I'll link to reviews if there are any and if anything was kindly gifted to me, it will be marked with a *. I narrowed it down to my top five in each category (yes, there were more!). Remember, these are all products that are new to me in 2020.

3 treats for 3 budgets

All of these products were kindly sent to me.

Have you entered my NAYA skincare bundle here?

I put myself on a spending ban (apart from essentials) this month because I just felt like Ii needed to focus on using products up, which I am pretty good at (as you'll know if you watch my stories), but I felt I could do better. I have been VERY tempted on some days and I can't promise that I won't be buying Charlotte Tilbury's new bronzer before the end of the month (although I really am sick of how the brand keeps churning out products - I know that most bloggers wouldn't say that out loud because they don't want to dumped off her PR list but even the most die-hard fans must be sick of the constant 'magic' products at the stage!) Don't get me wrong, she has some products that no others can compare to but I just think that with any brand, when they constantly release products, they don't feel special - what do you think? That said, it's still the one product really testing my willpower this month as I adore her other powder products! I like to buy something beauty-wise each month and, like I always say, you really don't need to spend an awful lot to find a treat that will make you feel better and maybe boost your mood - we all need a treat sometimes!

My top picks from Look Fantastic with 20% off!

Have you entered my NAYA skincare bundle here?

As you may or may not know (although I do mention it in every relevant post!), I have a discount code with Look Fantastic, which is valid until the end of this month (although I am hoping that they might kindly extend it further - fingers crossed). The code is LYMIN and it works on a vast range of products but today I wanted to share my top ten brands that I think it is worth using it on as 20% is a big saving (it was supposed to be reduced to 15% a few months ago but that didn't happen so who are we to complain?).  If anything catches your eye, act fast as there's only just over a week left with this code being valid for certain!

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: NAYA Antioxidant Defence Booster

One of my favourite brand discoveries last year was Naya* (blog post here) and they released a new product at the end of April, which I have been testing for around 8 weeks now. It's called Antioxidant Defence Booster* and it's quite a unique product as it's in powder form, designed to fit it with your current routine. *Spoiler alert* I have loved the results and Naya have kindly offered to give the Antioxidant Defence Booster* and their Everyday Glow Serum* as a prize to one of my readers so keep reading until the end to find out how to win!

How it feels to still be suffering the after effects of Covid when life is returning to normal for others

I first wrote about Coronavirus back in March (here) when we were in the early stages of lockdown and it was declared a pandemic. I then wrote about it a week later (here), giving tips on how to cope with lockdown, speaking as someone who has a long-term chronic illness, which has caused me to live the last almost 20 years of my life, under circumstances similar to lockdown. What I didn't realise at the time of writing those is that all these weeks later, I would still be feeling incredibly ill and suffering the after-effects of Covid (actually I'm still in the thick of it), while the world is starting to get back to normal. It's not a nice feeling, in fact, it's quite scary because I thought that by the time the world was opening up again, I would feel, not just better health-wise, but also safe.

Five current non-beauty favourites

It's not very often that I talk about non-beauty topics here on the blog but it's something I'd like to introduce more because there's obviously more to my life (and yours) than just beauty. I thought I'd start with sharing my current five favourite non-beauty products. In truth, my favourite non-beauty products right now are my painkillers because I am in obscene pain from morning until night! I often think about stopping blogging but it's my main distraction at the moment that helps me to focus on anything other than how unwell I am, so for now, I'll keep going but we'll see how I feel as the months progress as my GP has told me that my recovery will take a long time (anybody who has read my Lyme posts will know how difficult living with that it but to get Covid, flu and more in addition to that has been a real setback but I'm still as determined as ever to get back to full health). That being said, if I didn't blog, I'd probably just shop online so for the sake of my bank account, I'd be better off blogging! 

Huda Beauty new skincare brand Wishful - worth the hype?

I know that Huda can be quite a controversial character at times and I have to be honest, most blogger drama just goes right over my head so I couldn't really tell you what dramas she has been involved in. That said, I really like her makeup line so when she released some skincare products, I was quite surprised but also intrigued. I received a few samples of the Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub with some Cult Beauty orders and was very pleasantly surprised by it because it reminded me of an enzyme peel by Radical that I used to use. I was so impressed by the results of the few samples that I went on to purchase the full size - well actually the 40ml as I really like that she sells two sizes.I then purchased the Chin Lift Sculpting Mask and Thirst Trap Mask. Some I will be repurchasing and others, I won't, so let's get on with the review.

Weekly DIY Facial #4

If a product was kindly sent to me, it will be marked with a *

I mentioned in my first DIY Facial post that I'm really enjoying taking care of my skin, dedicating more time to my skin as I rarely go out for facials and that a Hydrafacial or Omorovica facial would be my dream treatments, so I bought a voucher for a 6 step Hydrafacial as something to look forward to when it's safe to leave the house again and I'm feeling a lot better. It had a 33% saving and there is no expiry on it so I took it as a sign as it's something that I have wanted to get done for a few years and I need a treat to look forward to as it's been 14 weeks since I have had a relapse due to contracting Covid and some days, it takes its toll as there is no improvement at all in my health. It's also one of the things that is on my '101 things to do in 1001 days', which I started last year on my birthday. That was a bit of a tangent for the start to this post! Anyway, I wanted to share the products that I used in my most recent facial. My skin wasn't haven't any particular issues apart from the usual - dull and dry! I wasn't in the mood to multi-mask but did want to ensure that my skin would be plump and radiant afterwards. Regular readers will see some usual favourites here!

Five Liquid Liners for watery eyes and oily lids

The Beauty Bakerie Eye liner was kindly sent to me.

I've mentioned before that I have the delightful combination of dry skin, oily lids and watery eyes, which means that my eye makeup products need to work extra hard and I'm extremely fussy abut what I use. I've tried so many liners on the market - some start out well but within a few hours have either disappeared, smudged or flaked off and it always tends to be on one eye more than the other, for some strange reason. Part of the reason that I love lash extensions so much is that I don't bother using liquid liner when I have them as the lashes give my eyes enough definition, but without the lashes (as I have been since lockdown started), I feel naked without some liner. I always wear mascara that gives dramatic, voluminous lashes and I use lash serum, which has made a huge difference to them, but I've worn liquid liner since I was around 16/17 so it's jut part of me now. Given that I've had to go back to wearing liners, I thought I'd buy some new ones as the two I had were almost finished anyway and with having such sensitive eyes, I have to bin my liners every few months. I thought I'd share my top five with you today, one of which will come as no surprise as it has featured on the blog many times!

The brand I can't get enough of at the moment: Neom

For me, a real treat is a nice bath product, a candle, hand cream body lotion etc. People tell me that I am difficult to buy for but it's honestly simple things like these that I love the most! I spend a lot of time at home, due to illness, which is why lockdown hasn't been too difficult for me, but even if you are a person who leads a very busy life, there's something so nice about coming home to a beautifully scented home or even just applying a nice hand cream. One brand that I have tried a few products from before, is Neom and in recent weeks, I have bought quite a few products because my LYMIN code works for 20% off on Look Fantastic. It's valid until the end of June so I'm taking advantage of the code before it expires (although I am going to ask for it to be extended!). I want to talk you through some of the products today and why I'm so obsessed with them!

Let's talk....... racism

Obviously, at this stage, we are all aware of the horrific, brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer and because my posts are pre-scheduled, I didn't want you to think that I was glazing over the issue and not addressing it. I did post on my stories about it just after it happened, but this deserves a post of its own, because conversations need to be had. As we have all learned, it is not enough to not be racist, we have to be actively non-racist and fight for equality. We need to educate ourselves in order to try to comprehend what life is like for people of colour. As I said on my Instagram post, I had the privilege of growing up in a small Irish village, raised in a house that didn't recognise ourselves as being better than anybody, regardless of creed, colour, education, profession etc. I feel that this upbringing has stood me in good stead for life. I'm sure that a lot of you reading this were raised this way too but what we may not have understood prior to recent weeks is that this is a privilege that we may have taken for granted (possibly without even knowing or being aware of it). 

Fenty Beauty cream cheek products - worth the hype?

When Fenty Beauty launched on to the market, they changed the game and so many other brands have been playing catch up ever since. The brand is inclusive but also pretty budget-friendly, given the quality. Usually brands that are owned by a celebrity aren't the best quality but it's the name that sells them, not so in this case. Rihanna has done a fantastic job with her beauty brand, which was initially exclusive to Harvey Nicholls but is now (thankfully) available in Boots in the UK and Ireland and also in Sephora. When I heard that the latest release was going to be cream cheek products, I didn't even think twice about ordering or even waiting until the stores were open gain to swatch because I'm in lockdown until August 10th, due to my health condition. So I took my chances and ordered a bronzer and blush, which I have been testing to share my thoughts with you!

My Weekly At Home Facial #3 The hormonal edit!

If anything was gifted to me, I will mark it with a * but I buy a LOT of skincare.

This week's facial was based around the fact that my skin was suffering a little due to being hormonal  (I didn't actually have any spots but you know when your skin is threatening to break out) and I had no patience to use gentle products because I feel so crap (flu, Covid, flu again, then tonsillitis and now a full Lyme relapse - not looking for pity, just explaining why I feel so rubbish!), that I just wanted my skin to at least look a little better than I feel! So I WENT IN! Nothing gentle here, but my skin can handle it as it's well used to acids - this is not something I would do every night, but when needs must, I don't mind putting my skin through its paces and using hardcore products that will help to reduce hormonal breakouts and generally improve the dullness of my skin and it worked!! Honestly, I think a good pamper is good for the soul!