Sleeping Beauty Blogger Challenge

A few months ago I was asked to take part in the Sleeping Beauty Blogger challenge with Time4sleep and life has been rather hectic since then, so I haven't kept up my side of the bargain like I should have done.  For this challenge I was sent a lovely box of products to try.

That said, my sleep pattern has been somewhat chaotic and I have either fallen asleep and then constantly woken up on what feels like every hour, had trouble falling asleep or had no problem at all. You know what it is like when you have a busy day ahead so you go to bed early to get a good nights sleep so you are firing on all cylinders and hours later you are still laid there wide awake, even counting sheep doesn't help.

So what do I do when I can't sleep? It is said that you shouldn't do anything that keeps your mind racing around half an hour before bed, such as watching television or being on the computer.  I always complete my nighttime routine of cleanse, tone and moisturise, though in my case it is double cleanse, my new found love.  Then I apply my eye-cream and lip balm and my skin is ready to sleep as am I.

Once in bed if I am not yet sleepy, I do more often than not read, using my Kindle Fire HD for around 30-40 minutes, I have a rule that it is switched off by 11pm on weeknights and then position my sleep mask and wait for sleep to come.  Sleep usually comes in stages which you can read about HERE.

If I have been restless for a few nights in a row, I will ensure I have a relaxing bath before bed, usually something with Lavender, which is something I find really relaxing.

This eye mask has been working wonders for me.  Fragranced with Lavender seeds it is soft, silky and smooth once into position and does a fabulous job at shutting out the light.  For me to drift peacefully off to sleep, it needs to be dark, pitch black in fact, any cracks in the curtains, winds me up and I am in and out of bed to make sure every little bit of light is shut out, adding an eyemask to my sleep time routine, perfect and this one stays in place.

The following morning, we have all done it, woken up with what resembles suitcases under our eyes through lack of sleep and the first thing you grab is concealer.  For the past few weeks I have been using a combination of Dr Organic Aloe Vera Eye Gel and Bourjois Healthy Mix Conclealer in shade Apricot.

The Dr Organic Eye Gel which is infused with Cucumber, Eyebright and Witch Hazel is said to be soothing, restoring, refreshing and anti-aging.   Each ingredient works together to reduce eye puffiness, refresh tired eyes, reduce dark circles and help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.  I keep this product in the fridge (and there is a full review of it coming in another post) and when applied to the eyes it does feel instantly soothing and does help reduce the puffiness but doesn't get rid of it altogether.  Instead having used something like this, I find it is then much easier to apply my concealer and the Bourjois option is much better than I thought it would be.  It glides on under the eye, and I massage it into the skin using my third finger (ring finger if you prefer) and it goes some way towards concleaing those dark circles making me feel and look almost human again.

Aside from those two products, you can always use cucumber slices if you have time in the morning.  Cut two medium sized thick slices, pop them into the freezer whilst you shower, then once you have finished, take just 3-4 minutes of your time to use the cucumber to cool your under-eye and help reduce puffiness, again it doesn't eradicate but it does make a visual difference.

What are you top tips for getting a good nights sleep? Do you have a routine which you follow?

My E.L.F Haul!

I finally took advantage of the 50% Discount Offer from E.L.F at the weekend and my god do they ship things super quick, I was really impressed.  

I had had my eye on quite a few products from the E.L.F range since being introduced to them HERE and decided now was as good a time as any to bite the bullet and make a purchase and this is my haul.  First off the packaging, not exciting I know, but everything was so well packaged, a few Beauty Boxes that I subscribe too could learn a lesson here!

Then the actual contents of the box - there are two items missing from my haul as they are for a competition winner and I don't want to spoil her surprise.  Everything else is for me!

Here we have the Baked eyeshadow Palette and the name given to this product is Texas. It is packed full with 10 gorgeous shades that I would wear and it is a perfect addition to my palette collection.  I have been wanting to try a baked eyeshadow for a long time and this little set cost just £10 and it comes encased in this stunning, really well made palette and it has a mirror, which is naturally really really helpful

I am determined to get the hand of eye-liner and am on a mission to find a product that makes life easy.  I am a HUGE fan of lip crayons, like a serious convert and my collection is growing rather quickly.  When I saw this Waterproof Eyeliner crayon, I thought at £3.75 it was worth purchasing to give it a try.  The colour I chose was Pitch Black.

You can never have too many lip exfolators, especially in this weather and this is one I intend to keep in my work make-up bag which I keep in my desk drawer at all times. Described as follows "A sweet sugar and smoothing sensation, infused with Vitamin E, Shea Butter, Avocado, Grape and Jojoba Oils to nourish and protect. This Lip Exfoliator treats and smoothes lips for a conditioned and revitalised feel". it costs just £3.75 and is a total bargain.

I had originally purchased this product for a friend for Christmas, I loved the look of the Beauty Book as soon as I saw it.  This is the natural set which includes 6 eye-shadows, 1 Eyelid Primer, 1 Eyeliner Pencil, 1 Built-in Mirror and 1 Dual Ended Applicator.  Everything I need in one package, plus some helpful guides and instructions and all for £6

No beauty order is complete without a nail polish or two right? well I saw these two stunning polishes and decided that I needed them in my life. To the left is Dream Maker and to the right is Fairy Dust, both of which are simply perfect for this time of year and will be shown in a future post.

Did you take advantage of the 50% off offer with E.L.F? What did you get? Have you got any of these products?

Wake your eyes up!

The eye roll on is a product I have wanted to try for a long time now, I often suffer with bouts of insomnia, so finding suitcases instead of bags under your eyes in a morning after you have finally fallen to sleep is not a new thing for me and concealer has been a god send.

The Simple skincare brand is something I have used for the past 6 weeks and I have grown to love them.  Priced at around £4.99 in Boots, the Simple Kind To Eyes Revitalising Eye Roll-On is sold within in a cardboard packet which contains a 15ml tube. Information is supplied on both the outer packet and is printed on the tube itself and you can read more about it HERE.

What they say:

Smile, it's Simple. When your skin's happy and fresh faced, you feel healthier and happier too! Simple's Revitalising Eye Roll-On contains a refreshing eye gel formulated with cucumber extract and vitamin goodness to wake up and reduce puffiness and revitalise tired eyes.

Now this product is actually a 'roll-on' the end of the tube, where the liquid is released from, is fitted with a small stainless steel ball which, when pressed slightly, releases liquid from the tube over and onto your skin. This is the first eye roll-on product I've ever used so I had no expectations and I have nothing to compare it with or against.

The first thing to note is that you do not need to squeeze the tube, the liquid is released with minimal effort, when it comes to using it on your under-eye, and this is how best to use it:

How to use it

"For best results; Apply the Revitalising Eye Roll-On to the eye area in light circular movements. If required smooth in any remaining liquid with your fingertips. Avoid contact with eyes”.

So taking your tube between your thumb and forefinger, as you would hold a pen, you simply roll the roller ball to the area that is under your eye just a few times. As you do this, the first thing you notice is that because the roller ball is metal it creates a lovely cooling sensation under your eye which massages as you roll it along your skin which I find really wakes you up, then combined with the gel which is also cool to the touch, both work together to really wake your eyes up in the morning.

There are three main points with this eye roll-on:

1. It contains Pro-Vitamin B5 which actively restores smoothes and softens
2. It contains 3 skin loving nutrients:

• Cucumber Extract which refreshes and revitalises
• Glycerin which hydrates and nourishes
• Lupin extract which helps to reduce puffiness

3. No Perfume, No Colour - no unnecessary ingredients and no harsh chemicals

I found the gel, which is clear, to be quite a thin texture which for under the eye is perfect, the last thing you need is something that resembles the consistency of hair gel stuck to your under-eye.  Instead what you will find is that it absorbs itself quite quickly into your skin and there is no greasy after-feel.  Sometimes there is some gel that hasn’t quite sunk in, usually if you apply too much and to aid it along, you simply use your fingertips to massage the gel in.

There is no dominant over-powering smell which I am quite pleased about, given that Simple products are fragrance free; this wasn’t a concern I had.

After using this product on your eyes, it does improve the under eye area and definitely makes you look more alert and awake.  After one notable bout of insomnia and I was beginning to look tired, I use this eye-roll on and it definitely help de-puff my eyes and once my concealer was added, you would never have noticed how tired I looked first thing.  One thing to bear in mind is that this product is not a miracle cure and doesn’t make any claims to solve any long term problems, it does exactly what it claims it will do on the box - wake up tired eyes.

I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase this product, for a tube that hold 15ml of a product and can last 3 weeks when using it every day and make me look more alert and feel more awake, it is worth every penny of its £4.99 costs.