My Skincare Routine

Hello again!

Two posts in one week. I bet I know what you're thinking! Schmeggyroo is very ill. She must be, because she's not herself. I would take my temperature myself if I had a thermometer on hand. Strangely enough, I do not. I'll just go with it for now! I've learnt the hard way to take advantage of motivation when it strikes, and quickly before it goes again ;)

My latest Youtube video shows this routine, which has been much requested by friends and subscribers alike over the last few months. I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their patience! I did get there in the end. The bonus is that I'm very happy with my current products; all of them I can recommend.

If you haven't checked out the video already, now's your chance! It'll put the rest of this blog post into perspective - watch it here!

My Skin

If I could somehow 'harvest' my face at the end of the day, I might just be Australia's next big Oil Tycoon! There is that much. Seriously. Maybe I have two careers, and one of those is Full Time Oil Control Management. With oily skin comes blocked pores and blemishes; I struggle with both.

Thankfully my multitude of freckles does wonders to disguise these things! *silver lining*

My breakouts are not confined to any one area of the face, unfortunately. I need to treat every square centimetre for the potential volcano that lies beneath....and that's where my skincare products come in!

With foundation! Were you really expecting to see me without it? :P

Cleanser

Let me summarise by saying - Natio Young Cleanser is my new love! Along with my Natio Young Oil-Free Moisturiser, I feel it's made the single biggest different to my skin - in particular preventing blemishes. I use it twice daily.

I purchased this cleanser on sale at Priceline for $9.95, which was 20% off the regular price. It's a gel cleanser that foams well, has a nice fragrance and removes all traces of dirt and oil effectively. Please comment on this blog post if you'd like a review. I'll bump it to the front of the queue! It's the very least I can do. My poetry is nothing new ;)

Natio Young Wash It Off Cleanser

Natio Young Wash It Off Cleanser

 

Toner

Sometimes the 'simple' things in life really are the best! This is my third bottle of Simple Soothing Facial Toner, and it's always worked well for me. This gentle toner contains chamomile and is 100% alcohol free. I use it twice daily. Applied with a cotton pad it removes any traces of dirt and makeup left behind after cleansing.

This product also cost under $10 from Priceline. In my opinion it's 'No. 1 in the UK' for a reason!

I've actually done a full-length review of this toner on my YT channel - check it out!

Simple Soothing Facial Toner

Simple Soothing Facial Toner

Moisturiser

You can guess this one I'm sure! My favourite oil-free moisturiser is also from the Natio Young range. Like the cleanser, I picked this one up for $9.95 at Priceline (20% off). Like the cleanser, it also has a lovely fragrance. The texture is light on the skin and it's easily absorbed, and my skin feels nourished without being oily. No small feat, let me tell you!

I use this moisturiser when staying indoors during the day, and at night - otherwise it's replaced by my trusty sunscreen, even in winter. Well....most of the time!

Natio Young Oil Free Moisturiser

Natio Young Oil Free Moisturiser

Pore Strips

Biore Pore Strips have a great reputation, and in my opinion it's well deserved. To be honest, I can't think of a single other brand of pore strips! I'm sure they exist, but I just can't pass up the Biore pack. The Combo pack is my favourite version, with both face and nose strips - 14 in total. I picked up this pack at my local Woolworth's for under $10.

I use these strips once weekly (or when I remember!), and I trim the face strip into two halves for more versatility. The strips apply with water and can be removed after 10 minutes. Let's not even talk about what comes out of my pores! *shudders*

Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

Combo Pack - 14 Face & Nose Strips

Masks

I seem to have a serious problem with masks. At one stage I owned four of them! Now the tally is down to two, thankfully, and they are both fantastic products.

My Arbonne Exfoliating Masque with Thermal Fusion was more expensive, but gee does it work! I think this particular one has been discontinued, but Arbonne have plenty of other masks available and I can highly recommend the brand. I won't bore you with the details here, but depending on your budget you may find their ethics and products very tempting!

Here's the Arbonne website, if you're interested - take a peek!

Arbonne Intelligence Exfoliating Masque with Thermal Fusion

Arbonne Intelligence Exfoliating Masque with Thermal Fusion

My Formula 10.0.6 Oil-Absorbing Mud Mask was a steal - under $10, again from Priceline. It has a very smooth application, and does wonders for oily skin. Let's face it - who really does have 'time to shine'?

Not that I'm complaining, but this mask seems to be lasting forever! I'm guessing Mr Potter (or more likely, Miss Granger) has cast some sort of 'extending spell' on it, because no matter how many times I apply it, it never seems to run out :P

Formula 10.0.6 No Time To Shine Oil-Absorbing Mud Mask

Formula 10.0.6 No Time To Shine Oil-Absorbing Mud Mask

Exfoliant
My current scrub is also by Arbonne. The 'Exfoliating New Cell Scrub' is part of their FC5 range, which has the most gorgeous all-natural fragrance. I could sit smelling these products all day. The granules in this scrub are quite fine and small, so it doesn't feel harsh on the skin. I use this two to three times per week; occasionally with the assistance of an electric toothbrush for maximum exfoliation!

Arbonne FC5 Exfoliating New Cell Scrub

Arbonne FC5 Exfoliating New Cell Scrub

Sunscreen
Last but not least (and I mean that!) is my Arbonne SPF30+ Sunscreen. I use this in place of my moisturiser during the day, when I plan to be outside. It absorbs exceptionally well into the skin, and I have no problems wearing makeup over the top. It lacks that typical strong 'sunscreen' smell too, which is great. I use this on my face, neck, hands and any other parts of the body exposed to the sun and UV.

Arbonne Damage Control Water-Resistant Sunscreen SPF30

Arbonne Damage Control Water-Resistant Sunscreen SPF30

So that just about does it for my skincare routine! Apart from my Simple Soothing Toner, all of these products I have yet to review on Youtube. If you have any requests or preferences for reviews, leave a comment below and I can pri-ORI-tise!

Just remember, it's a woman's perogative to change her mind - and I am always on the quest to find something better when it comes to skincare. Heck, I just like trying new things for some variety! I have no doubt that there will be many more skincare routine posts to come.

Now, I'm interested: what are your favourite skincare products? What does your routine involve? Feel free to comment below, or even post a video response to my Youtube video :)

I hope this was interesting to some of you! I hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend. You deserve it!

xoxoxo Schmeggyroo (TGIF!)

My first nail art attempt!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend :)

Good friends, good times!

I spent an amazing Friday night with a good friend Karlee (aussietiger29 on Youtube!) celebrating the end of her uni studies. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks! We shared in some naughty-yet-delicious food and wine, pampered ourselves with facials and pedicures and even managed to fit in some man-candy before bed (in the form of One Tree Hill!).

The next morning we prepared to speak to one of our good friends Emily (4theluvofmakeup on Youtube) on Skype together! Emily lives in the United States, but we would never let that get in the way of a good friendship. Em has been inviting us to visit her all year, and I have to admit I am  very temtped to make that trip my next saving goal! Nothing would make me happier right now than shopping with friends and having a great time in good company.

Em had very generously sent Karlee and I a massive package each, filled with unknown goodies! The plan was to open the packages while on Skype to Em, so she could enjoy watching our faces and our reactions. It was such a fantastic experience! Em has truly spoiled us, and her gifts were thoughtful and gorgeous. I loved absolutely everything she got me, and I'm incredibly grateful and overwhelmed at her generosity!

I've just uploaded a Youtube video showing everything she got me: Check out my gift haul video!

Nail art experiments

Em got me quite a few new polishes, so of course I was quick to try some out on my nails. After my usual Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat, I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in 30 'Snappy Sorbet' - more orange than melon to me! The super wide brush was a dream to use, although the formula was very thick. Perhaps the thickness is needed to properly load the wider brush? hmmmm....I think this one will need more trials before I can review it properly.

Em had also sent me two nail art polishes - my very first! They are both L.A. Colors Art Deco Nail Art Lacquers; one in white and one in black, both a creme finish. The thin, tapered brushes worked like a dream. My imagination hasn't yet evolved to the world of nail art, so all I managed were some thing brush strokes on each nail! If you are into nail art, please be kind and don't mock my terrible design :P We all have to start somewhere, right?

 To me, this looks a little like a tiger design - that's my story, anyway :P I finished off with my Sally Hansen Diamond Shine as a top coat too, and so far the design is wearing really well - no chipping after three days.

As some of you may know, I am attempting to work from home at the moment - this is the best solution I can think of to have an income while my back is giving me such grief. My rat babies are of course overjoyed by this turn of events - play time all the time! They absolutely love being out during the day, and leaping around on my bed or the desk. I'm finally becoming a work-at-home mum!

Bonkers, AKA Little Man - although he's not so little anymore!

Talk to you all soon!

xoxo megs <3

My no-spend period!

Hey guys!

I hope everyone's having a great week so far!! I really can't quite believe it's Thursday already, feels like Monday was just yesterday. The end of the year is notorious for speeding up time! The weekends just seem closer and closer together, and the Christmas period starts looming in a really formidable way. I should be more excited about the holiday, but if I'm not ready and organised for it (which, let's face it, I never am!) it's just too stressful to enjoy. Around about this time (mid-November), I always find myself wishing and hoping that time will slow down and somehow things will magically come together.

This year in particular has been a shocker...which naturally means I'm even more frantic now than usual! Due to a pretty painful back condition I haven't been able to work much at my new job, which is at a dental practice about half an hour from home in the city. Finally now I'm driven to work despite the pain and work suddenly won't let me back!!! I won't express my frustration, for fearing of violating your minds with my expletives. Work now seems to think that having me work on-site while injured could lead to serious legal consequences for them. Fair enough - but I neeeeed money!

Don't make me work a suburban corner people, because that will not be pretty :P Anyway, after lengthy discussions and delays, work has agreed to let me work from home in a way that I can deal with the back problems. Thank god for that! I'll hopefully be ready to start that tomorrow or Monday, once the internet connections and passwords are set up. I'm so incredibly grateful that they've given me this option! So while I'm financially dying right now I understand things could be worse if work was unsupportive.

Long story short, my current focus is to use all the products (hair, skincare, makeup, bath & body) that I already have in my collection. Despite all my day-dreaming and chronic wish-list making, I know deep down that I have some great products, and a lot of them need some attention. It's so tough though! Asking a person who buys Shop Til You Drop magazine each month (well, until recently anyway!) to give up buying anything is like asking a ho to give up crack cocaine....

It's been HARD, there's no denying it - but I've been very strict and my friends have been very supportive. They know exactly what to say and when to say it, to stop me in my excited, crazed-shopaholic tracks :P

So in the spirit of acknowledging what great products and other random things I'm loving right now, here are some of my current favourites!

• Natio Young Gel Cleanser and Oil Free Moisturiser - finally, something helping my blemishes!
• New hair care products - Schwarzkopf Extra Care Deep Nutrition Shea Cashmere Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave-In Treatment.
• DKNY Pure fragrance - and wearing it at home, where no one can enjoy it except me.
• My GHD, which I busted out today for the first time in ages.
• Sugarbaby Fairy Gloss Lip Glaze in 'Wizard' (clear with multi-coloured shimmer).
• BYS Lipstick in Champagne Rain (an extremely opaque nude, have to use this sparingly)
• Drinking at least 10 glasses of water per day (and no soft drink for once).
• Avon Footworks Intensive Callus Cream + one pair of fluffy socks :)
• Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, with
• Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Creme
• Paramore's album 'Brand New Eye's - STILL!
• Katy Perry's song 'Firework' - literally brings a tear to my eye every time.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far! Only one more day until the weekend :D What do you have planned for the 2 days? Have you prepared for Christmas yet? Done your Christmas shopping? I'd love to hear what you've been up to, so don't be shy to comment below ;)

Take care for now!
xoxo Megs