A Little Bit Of Laura

Collection Primed & Ready | Review

Hi guys, today I am back with another beauty review.

I've never really used primer before because I never really understood what it did and if it worked. So that gave me the perfect excuse to go shopping a find a primer than I could try and then review on this blog.

I didn't want anything too expensive because I didn't know how well it'd work and to go all out would be silly. So I found this one from Collection, which is a beauty brand that I already love and get a lot of products from.

I think it cost me £3.99 which is such good value for make-up. If you haven't checked Collection out, then you should because it is so good for people on a budget or students.

The primer works by minimising your pores, which in turn should help prevent make-up and dirt from getting inside them and causing blemishes. Smaller pores also results in a smoother, more airbrushed finish. It also makes your skin matte, taking away any bad shine and oil that your face may have.

The primer itself feels really silky and soft and to be honest is an unusual texture because it's not exactly wet but almost feels it. However I like this because it feels so smooth and light on the skin.

After applying, I left my skin for a minute or two to let it settle and set more. This is because I didn't want to apply foundation straight away and rub the primer all off. I then applied my foundation with a beauty blender sponge because using my fingers probably would have resulted in an uneven finish. It went on really well and felt smooth and even. The overall finish was smooth and flawless and did, I think, look better than without primer.

Primer is also supposed to help your make-up stay put for longer. I always have issues with this and I touch my face a lot which is probably a bad habit, and make-up just doesn't seem to stay on my face. After using this primer, I did notice that my make-up stayed put for longer. It did still come off eventually but I think it lasted a bit longer when using this. I think it's just my combination skin that means make up either dries up and crusts on my face or is so oily than it runs off my face. Perhaps if my skin were to improve a bit, this primer would work even better.

Overall I enjoyed this product and think that it is a good addition to my make-up bag. And for only £3.99 you can't go wrong!

Speak soon

1Comments

, by Unknown

In Beauty,

St Tropez In Shower Gradual Tan | Review

Hello lovelies

I have lined up some splendid beauty reviews for you, starting with a review of this product by St Tropez.

Now this product is relatively new, coming out last year I believe. I'd wanted to get my hands on it for a while, but to be honest St Tropez is far too pricey for me and so I never bought it. However this product was on offer in Tesco and although it was still expensive at about £9- £10, I thought it was worth it-as I would be saving about a fiver.

I'd heard mixed reviews on this products but it has been spoken off very highly by many and by magazines and so I was very excited to try it. To be able to get a tan, in the shower, and have no 'fake tan' smell is brilliant, I thought, and how this was possible, I was unsure, but nevertheless I was keen to achieve what promised to be the most effortless tan EVER!!!

Unfortunately... despite how it has been bragged about, it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

First of all, the smell is better and doesn't smell of fake tan when you take a whiff from the bottle. It smells quite strong but in no way unpleasant, so at least there is one pro.

The process, although described as easy, I actually found a bit of a nuisance. It basically says to wash yourself first in the shower and then turn the shower off, and then apply the tan generously over the body, it then tells you to wash your hands after use. But doing this meant I of course had to turn the shower back on, which meant getting my body splashed a bit and when rinsing my hands, the water would run down my arms, so I found it easier to just not rinse my hands afterwards. Doing this I was expecting to face the orange hands consequence. However I didn't, like, at all. This was my first sign that this tan wasn't really doing anything, because usually you'd at least expect to see a faint tan right?
Anyway, you have to stand there with this lotion on your body for three minutes, which is slimy from the water and feels more wet in some places, like legs where it runs off with the remnants of water, and more creamy on your top half where you may apply last. After three minutes of standing and feeling slimy and helpless you have to turn the shower off and rinse your body with only water.

Luckily, St Tropez were correct in saying that there would be no fake tan smell. But perhaps this is because there is no fake tan in the bottle to begin with. I say this because I really didn't notice much difference to my skin tone AT ALL. Once I thought perhaps I had a hint of a glow, but I put that down to trick of the light. I knew it'o only a gradual tanner however and so I continued to use it for about four showers afterwards, and I still didn't really see any tan expect perhaps a faint and I mean faint, glow.

Overall this tan was disappointing. I will however attempt to use it again and see if maybe my application was what hindered it before, and perhaps I will come back and let you know how it went. However for £15, this did not seem worth it- sorry St Tropez.

Speak soon

0Comments

, by Unknown

End of my 7 Day Diet

1Comments

, by Anonymous

In diet, health and fitness

Day 4 & 5 | 7 Day Diet

Hey guys, so I know I failed to upload Day 4 yesterday, and I don't really have a good enough excuse. To be honest I was busy... busy watching The Devil Wears Prada with my mum... oops!
So today I'll catch you up with day 4 as well as day 5.

It's not been easy. I've found day 4 and 5 the hardest I think because the novelty and motivation has begun to wear off. I didn't get to go for a jog yesterday. I was going to go in the evening but couldn't in the end as was waiting for a call and had some work to do. And today I haven't jogged either as again I've been working. However I did go food shopping with my mum so maybe that counts as exercise. I am again busy tonight, but if I finish not too late then I'll go out for a run... fingers crossed.

So here were my goals:

Eat a light, healthy breakfast
Cut out carbs completely (ha let's see how that goes!)
Drink mostly water
Exercise most days
I read somewhere that drinking a cup of coffee an hour before a workout, results in more energy and burns more calories, so let's see if that works shall we?
Smaller portions- don't over eat
Only eat healthy snacks
Get a good night's sleep and wake up at reasonable times
No alcohol

How they've gone:

I have eaten a light breakfast each day. I've tried to have something different each day so I don't get bored. Sometimes I've eaten fruit other days egg and yesterday I had a small bowl of cereal with berries on top.
Look, this was never going to be easy. Quitting carbs cold turkey is honestly so much harder than it sounds. And have I achieved it? Well, no. I've cut out a lot though. I don't eat crisps, or biscuits. I've had the odd slither of cake, and the odd piece of bread, but that has always been accompanied by veg or salad. As much as we assume carbs are the unhealthy part of our diet, we don't realise that for a balanced diet we need carbs. Carbs are just as important as other foods and cutting them out completely probably isn't natural. I have felt less bloated when I've not eaten carbs which is a great benefit, however cutting out carbs is so much harder when you live at home as you can't always dictate what food is cooked etc. I feel as though I've done really well with this goal though to be honest, because it is really hard and I've made a lot of alternative choices for carbs in meals.
I think I've done really well. I have only drunk water for the whole week, except for one cider at the pub and one teeny glass of red wine. Other than that, I've stuck to water.
I tried the cup of coffee one hour before a workout thing, but personally I didn't think it made much difference. I think just sticking to a protein breakfast and water will do just as good.
I have made sure to have smaller portions for dinner and I have never over eaten, and I am yet to feel too full after a meal this week. That for me is one of my biggest issues. I always graze, snack and eat too much which causes bloating, nausea and most of all it's just greedy. It's calories that I don't need.
Healthy snacks? I think I've done this really well during the day. In fact I haven't really snacked or had much urge to. I have however had the odd piece of chocolate in the evening. Naughty I know, but... well I have no excuses other than, I wanted some chocolate.
I think getting a good night's sleep is not something you can always control. I've been going to bed at an alright time and I haven't been having huge lie ins, nor have I been waking up super early. Due to the heat it has been difficult to get a good nights sleep consistently, so whether this has had an effect on my diet I am unsure.
No alcohol? Well as I've said, I have had 2 drinks this week. I think that is good considering I usually have about 2 glasses of wine a night. So that's 2 drinks instead of 10. When you say it like that it sounds great. Think of what those extra 8 glasses does to your body. My body is 8 glasses of wine healthier this week!!

Okay so there have been good points and bad points. I was semi on this diet last week as well ( I just chose to write about it for this week) and in the two weeks I have just about lost 4 pounds. Of course this alters during the day due to water weight and food etc. But I have managed to shed 4 pounds- just from living a healthier more balanced diet and lifestyle! Result!!

Speak soon