Bioderma: Is It Worth The Hype?

Hey Ladies,

Bioderma.

I feel like writing this post I am way way behind on the times. When I started reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials way back when, I feel like everyone and their dog had Bioderma and it was this mystical products that did a miraculous job at removing makeup. It was literally the most hyped about product on the market so when a friend from work was heading home to Poland at the end of the Summer last year she kindly picked me up a bottle so I could see what all the fuss was about for myself. 

                                               

With cotton pad in hand and a full face of makeup to be removed I gave it a bash and I felt it was all a bit meh. Just meh. Don't get me wrong it removes makeup alright but I wouldn't say its anything better than your run of the mill micellar water that you could pick up in Boots on sale for about 6quid. When I initially tried Bioderma I had already been using the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for quite a while so I think if I hadn't of been using that maybe, just maybe I might have been a little more impressed. But with all the hassle to get it and the price which is in and around the €15 mark for two small bottles I felt it was very underwhelming! 

In all honesty I think I'll just stick to my Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water for now but at least it's one product I got to tick of my BBL(Beauty Bucket List)....on to the next one!

Product Smackdown: Micellar Waters For Under €7!

Hey Ladies,

Is it just me or does it seem that companies are bringing out micellar waters left, right and centre? Not that I am complaining as they have become an essential part of my everyday skincare routine and just like mascaras I am on a quest to find the creme de la creme of micellar waters. In the past couple months I have put three different products to the test, two that are under €7 quid and one that is more of a premium brand but more on that in the coming weeks!

First up is the hugely talked about Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, its packaging and size are very similar to that of Bioderma so when this hit the shelves the beauty world went into a frenzy. For under €7 you get a whopping 400ml of product which lasts me at least 4-6 weeks depending if I am wearing makeup everyday. No fragrance and no alcohol means this is super gentle and it removes most makeup, although I do find that I need something with a little more oil to remove that pesky Inglot gel liner. I do love this and I have repurchased this numerous times since I first tried it and it is a staple product for a Makeup Artist's kit.

With that said lets skip over to the L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Water (phew that's a mouthful!). I picked this up when micellar waters first popped up on the scene and immediately fell in love. Definitely my favourite of the two products although you only get 200ml for the same price as the Garnier which is a little lousy. I found that this takes of every scrap of makeup including waterproof eyeliner (I'm looking at you Inglot!) and mascara, whereas the Garnier didn't measure up! I also noticed less breakout with this product which is a huge bonus for me.

Both products do an incredible job at removing makeup and for such a bargainous price you really can't fault them. Even if you aren't a skincare person this is definitely the lazy man's (or woman's) way of taking care of your skin with minimal effort and throw away those bloody baby wipes because with these products it takes just as little effort to cleanse your skin.... no excuses!


VIVA LA MICELLAR REVOLUTION!
Love,
S

Water Marbling Nails

Hey Ladies,
Today I am going to share with you how to do water marbling. This technique gives great looking nails to those (like me) who is less able to do anything with their nails apart from slapping on some polish. It's a really easy thing to do and you only need an orange wood stick, some tape, a small glass of water (hot or cold) and a small range of polishes. The polishes I am using are ones which were featured in my 12 Days Of Nail Polish Christmas.

Let's get to it!

Begin get your necessities ready....

 Sally Hansen Extreme Wear polish in Blue It....

 Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in Grey Matter....

 H&M Nail Polish in Wawawoom...

 ....and finally Seche Vite.

 First of all paint your nails with a base coat and I am just using a basic grey.

Then, using your tape apply a small strip to the bottom of your nail and curve it around to cover each side of the nail. Using a small bit more tape apply to across the top of the cuticle, this will avoid a huge mess to clean up.

 Taking a glass of water, this glass is just a small one from IKEA. Begin by dropping in a droplet of nail polish straight from the brush into the water. My first nail I am using a black followed by a dot of gold, blue, grey and gold once again. It should create like a ring effect.

 Once you do that, take an orange wood stick and pull the pattern in different directions (right, left, swirls or a simple line as seen below).

 This is the tricky part.... the dip your nail straight into the middle of the design and leave it for a second and then pull your finger back out again. Allow the polish to dry before removing the tape. Apply a topcoat!

Before you begin your next nail you will need to remove the remaining polish from the water. This is very easy, simply put the orange wood stick in the water and twist it around the glass and the polish should just attach to the stick. Then wipe the orange wood stick in a piece of tissue and continue on :)

Every time you do this technique you will get a different pattern, I have taken some pictures of me doing the rest of my hand so you can see the different design. I have followed the same technique but, as the black polish wasn't the greatest I removed it from the design. 

 Once you have completed your hand, remove the tape from each finger once the nail polish is dry.Then taking a cotton bud and some nail polish remover and clean around the edge of the nail.

 And there you have it, beautiful and different nails that are not only super easy to do but also get you loads of compliments....you'll look a nail genius!

Hope you enjoyed.
Love,
S