Simple skin care

I've been going through the ringer with my skin lately. It's been getting so oily towards the evening that my make up has been separating on my skin and just generally looking a bit.....crap. Its also getting a lot more sensitive so a lot of products I've tried have really aggravated it. It's been going through so many changes, both internal and external, that keeping on top of it is proving a challenge. Gone are the days when a quick scrub at night did the job.

We all know about the Simple skincare brand, it's a store staple. I've tried a few of their offerings, but being a bit curious I tend to float from brand to brand. Simple products are packed full of natural skin loving ingredients, and 0 preservatives. 

My first port of call was the Kind to skin Micellar water. I love this product! It's all natural and really removes every trace of make up, even waterproof liner or mascara. It also leaves my skin feeling spotlessly clean and refreshed. 

To help combat my new found oil problem I chose an Oil Balancing facial scrub and Oil Balancing daily moisturoiser. I use the scrub every 1-2 days, and the moisturoiser every day religiously. The both promise to cleanse and nourish the skin while helping to eliminate shine. But do they?

I've been using them every day for just over a week and I have to say that I am noticing a difference! It's small, but when it comes to skin care every little helps! I'm definitely going to continue using them to see the full effects, and will definitely be buying the micellar water again!

At the time of purchase all Simple skin care was coming in around the €3-5  and was on a 3 for 2 offer, so those 3 only cost me €6 at the till!

The Tan by the 2 Jenns

Pretty much every feed I have has been clogged up with news and reviews of The Tan By the two Jenns, so after hunting it down in Couture Beauty in Tallaght I  couldn't wait to try it.

The Tan has been developed over 18 months by the two Jenns (of Vanity Room fame) and comes in a gel, spray and gradual tan format. The I opted for the gel and it set me back €19!

The Tan claims to be moisturising, quick drying, non sticky and stink free. But is it? Being the patient creature that i am, I gave myself a layer last night. While I was applying I very quickly noticed that Hey, this is just gliding on like a dream! It spreads and blends like a dream! The guide colour is subtle, but dark enough to avoid any missed spots! It dries almost immediately on the skin so there was absolutely no sticky feeling!

Before

I've noticed lately that every tan I use has left me FEELING like I'm coated in tan, but seconds after applying The Tan I felt ready to walk out the door!  And it actually left my skin feeling really soft and moisturised! I also didn't notice any discernable tan smell! Big bonus!

According to the bottle you can leave this tan on for 2-3 hours for a subtle colour. But if, like me, you have a go hard or go  home attitude to tanning, you can leave it on for 8 hours for a deeper colour. I left it on over night and love my colour this morning. It's deep , but natural looking even on my pale skin!

After!

I  think the proof is in the punch here! I'm normally a notorious bargain hunter, but I would happily pay €19 for this tan again! My only word of warning would be to only apply a small amount to your mitt at a time as the gel is a bit runny and a little blob goes a long away!

Well done to the two Jenns! They've created what I think will be a holy grail product for a lot of folk!

Katrina's Beauty Room!

Hello everyone! I hope the new year has been treating you all very well 😄

The blog has been completely dead of late, so I thought I'd show you all why! As you'll probably know, I've been working away studying beauty therapy and working in a local salon, so between that, exams, Christmas and getting my own salon up and running at home things have just been a bit mental! But now that things have gotten a bit more relaxed I'm going to do my best to get back into regular reviewing!

So, with that said, I'd love to introduce you all to my new baby- Katrina's Beauty Room. 

A lot of blood, sweat, and quite a few tears went into to turning my attic into a little slice of heaven for clients, and for myself! It's very early days yet, I'm doing tanning, nails, tinting, waxing, lashes (all your basic salon treatments) but there'll be new treatments added regularly at very competitive prices! 

If you'd like to keep up to date with news and any special offers feel free to give me and aul sneaky like on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Katrinasbeautyroom 

Talk soon! 

To Hollywood via Waxperts!

I'm quite enamored with the Waxperts style!

Yesterday I popped all the way out to Dun Laoghaire to pay a visit to the Waxperts salon and have all my fuzzy bits removed. I've developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with wax since I started training, I love doing it, but a bog standard hot wax anywhere near your precious lady bits is a just.... *shudder* It's not nice. So I sacked the gardener for a while, let nature take it's course and  presented myself in Waxperts with a rather impressive area of coarse, dug in hair that was used to being shaved (I'm trying to be as discreet as possible here, but we all know where I'm talking about!)

I was waxed by Maggie, under the guidance of Trish, and while initially the prospect of 4 eyes inspecting my foof rather than 2 was a bit daunting, I soon got over myself (remember, these ladies are professional waxers, your's is not the only vagina they'll see before lunch!) I was getting a Hollywood and even with the extra person in the room my modesty was preserved. Maggie knew exactly what she was doing, she was absolutely flying. Nothing phased her at all! Now as I said, my hairs are used to being shaved, and I'm a natural red head, so they're pretty adamant on staying where they are, it wasn't an easy job. I'd say her poor arms are aching today! The attention to was amazing, there wasn't a single soldier left behind, and if there was he was quickly tweezed away!

Now, I'd consider myself to have a fairly average pain threshold.... ok, I lied... I'm a complete wimp. But honestly, Waxperts is the most pain free waxing experience I've ever had. Lets be honest, no one goes to a salon for a waxing for a nice, relaxing treatment, we go because it's a necessary evil! I don't know what they do, or how they do it, but the combination of oil and a wax sent from the heavens combined to make my treatment as painless as humanly possible when you consider the area being waxed. Even on the MOST sensitive parts it was mildly uncomfortable at most. When you compare it to shavers itch...ppfft, nothing!!

I'm absolutely delighted with the results. Having a small insight into waxing myself I was always gonna be a bit skeptical about the results, but there's nothing to be skeptical about, because there's just nothing there!! II actually found it fascinating to just lay there and listen to the terminology and soak up some of their pro tips (Stealing all their knowledge!) By the time I was leaving the salon it was like I'd never been waxed. That's Important to me, it would have been awful to journey all the way home feeling red raw!!

So there you have it! A lovely wax, performed by lovely people. I think once you visit Waxperts you'll see why they're becoming just as popular as they are! I bumped into Ellen on my way to the bus and thought it was lovely of her to ask how I got on, and even ask how my own training was going! Client care pro's!

Waxperts wax pretty much everywhere, and you can book your wax online (nifty nifty) here! Go on, I promise you you won't regret it!

Busy busy busy! Beauty training update.

I thought it might be nice to add a little update on how my training with Beauty Skills is going.  The last time I posted about it everything was new and exciting and honestly I was a bit worried that somewhere down the line the novelty would wear off or my laziness would takw over and I'd realise. .... actually, this is more work than I'm willing to put in!

I'm happy to report that that absolutely hasn't happened! I'm still absolutely loving it! I'm learning so much and having a lot of fun doing it.

I won't lie, it's a lot of work, and there are aspects of it that I struggle with. Particularly the anatomy and physiology side of things. The human body is an amazing,  if bloody complicated,  piece of machinery! That said, it's still very interesting!  Sitting at home with my head in a book or scribbling out notes is not a chore!

The practical side is so much fun! And seeing the progress im making, and all the other girls, is just so satisfying and motivating. The first  week I was sticking my gloves to myself with wax and now I can competently wax all standard areas! The waxing is actually one of my favourite things to do now, and I thought I'd hate it!

Our first set of exams are in October, and we're making flying progress! I'm honestly not too worried.... yet!

I've been enjoying it so much that I've even set myself up a little practical room at home and have been recruiting guinea pigs to practice on. I've been picking bits up here and there when I can afford it, and was generously given a lend of a wax pot to practice with.

Not only that, but on the more sentimental side of things,  I think taking up this course has done great things for my confidence. Like today I stripped off in front of a girl I have to see almost every day for the next 10 months, have her examine me in all my glory and it didn't phase me at all!

It's been an absolutely fantastic experience so far, and a great opportunity!  I really am enjoying myself and am already planning courses to after to further my qualifications! I couldn't recommend the course enough to anyone with an interest in beauty. The tutors are brilliant and you'll learn more than you ever thought you needed to know!

NYX Matte not flat foundation review

For some reason, Blogger decided to completely eradicate my original review from the face of the earth, so here we go with round two!..... fingers crossed!

As most of you know, unless you've been hiding under a rock, NYX landed on our fair shores a few months ago (in selected store) sending the blogerspher all a tizzy! My closest stockist was all the ways over in Bradley's Pharmacy in Blanch (boohoo) so getting my mitts on some was proving quite tricky! That's where the wonderful GirlFriday stepped in, took way my little shopping list and worked her magic!

I initially had my eye on the Invincible foundation (dat full coverage!!) but it wasn't in stock so I got Matte not flat instead! Lets start with the pro's!

It's one of very few foundations that matches my skin tone almost exactly without any faffing about! If anything, it's bordering on TOO pale! (I KNOW!!!) It comes in 5 shades so there should be something to suit all skin types!

It's blends really easily, and sets to a nice matte finish, but doesn't make my skin look dull or lifeless.

It has a fairly reasonable price point! (Can be yours for a sweet 13 fiddy from Littlewoods)

It has a medium to light coverage, so is enough to cover any mild redness, and feels nice and light on the face. The coverage is a bit of a double edged sword for me, even during the day I tend to lean more towards a full coverage, but I did find it to be quite buildable.

Now for the bad stuff...

I found that when I wore it without a primer it had a tendency to sit in my pores, which i HATE. Considering that I'd mostly be using this as a foundation for college, I'd often just be whacking it on and running out the door, so I don't have time to be worrying about primers! This is a bit of a bug bear for me unfortunately!

It's not hugely long lasting, I found after a few hours it was fading around my oily areas!

All in all I'd give Matte not flat 3/5. It is a good little daytime foundation, as long as you don't mind the occasional touch up, and prime time if you have visible pores!

Catrice The Giant Extreme Volume Mascara

We all know Catrice as a much loved budget high street brand with, by all accounts, some damn good products. But I just never seemed to get into them for some reason! This may be all about to change. I popped into Health Express in Tallaght (on payday coincidentally...uh oh) and they had a huge chunk of their Catrice stand Half price, all stock that's soon to be removed from the line apparently. Naturally I picked up a few bits.....for science!

I picked up their BB cream, a blush, liquid eyeliner and this mascara, which, if I'm to be completely honest, is a bit of a revelation.

The Giant promises bold, dramatic lashes with a nice chunky brush designed to each every lash from corner to corner. Normally with a mascara that offers you the sun, moon and stars it falls at at least one hurdle, but I am SO impressed with this mascara I've practically been forcing it on people.

I found it gave me amazing volume, with fantastic length and separation. It didn't clump and built up really easily. I wore it all day yesterday with no touch up's and while my lashes looked a tad limper by the evry end of the day, I found practically zero flaking!

With one coat The Giant gives beautifully full daytime lashes, but not being one for subtlety I've been lashing it on in 2-3 coats. I'm pretty upset that I didn't discover this little ge much earlier. If it's being removed from the line permanently and not being replaced with a very similar mascara I'll be pretty much heart broken.

I can't remember exactly how much I paid for The Giant, but I'm not talking much more than €2. Even at full price it's an out and out bargain!! It hands down beats some mascara's I've paid €10-15 for!

You'll have to excuse the bandy photo's, I'm currently working off an old phone and the camera is just able for anything! Oh how I miss my Samsung :(