DIY Toner

I've recently been breaking out more than usual and I don't know why... So I whipped up this DIY toner and thought I'd share a quick tutorial for a soothing, skin softening and acne treating toner, which has rapidly become one of my personal favourites :) It leaves your skin feeling soft and helps battle blemishes and acne. It issuper simple to make and can be made with things that are available easily and cheaply.

After filming and editing the video, I had a search on Youtube and saw that Secretlifeofabionerd already has a video about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf4s0zS73w),which is a tiny bit different as she uses more aspirin. Seeing as I'd spent a good few hours editing the video, I still decided to upload it. I hope you like it!

More Background Info:

Salicylic acid is abeta-hydroxy acid derived from the bark of a willow tree. It is available forthe public in the form of aspirin and lots of products aimed at acne andskin clearing on the market contain salicylic acid. Salicylicacid works by causing the cells of the epidermis to shed properly. Thisprevents the pores from getting clogged up and being infected with bacteriathereby preventing blemishes from showing.

Witch hazel is producedfrom the leaves and bark of the North American Witch Hazel shrub. It is a natural astringent, which reduces inflammation, sanitizes the skin and helps with hydration of the skin. Many people use it topically as a toner, as it is gentle and non drying to the skin.

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

Wardrobe Envy: Kristen Stewart

I went to see Breaking Dawn with my flatmate earlier this week. I generally enjoyed it and can't wait for the second instalment, because I want to see how the story ends (as I haven't read the books). If you've seen it, what did you think of it? I can't believe after the next film, it'll all be over! After watching the interview with the whole of the Twilight cast on the Ellen Show and seeing a gazillion Kristen Stewart/Bella Swan make-up tutorials pop up on Youtube, I was inspired to do a style crush post of Kristen Stewart.


While some people may be thinking 'Reeeally?!', I actually have to admit I genuinely like Kristen's style (most of the time). I love Kristen's casual style, as this is how I tend to dress. She tends to stick to blacks, greys and whites and always looks comfortable and casual. In my opinion, sometimes her event outfits are a bit questionable... But when she gets it right, it's spot on. I think Kristen generally opts for cocktail dresses and massive heels, although it seems like she tends to wear floor-length dresses to the Twilight premieres and doesn't stay in the heels for very long either, as there are pictures of her at the Breaking Dawn Part 1 Premiere in London signing autographs in her trainers!

All images are from KStewartFan.org and Google
Who are your style crushes? You can see more of my style crushes .

xoxo, Joy

NOTD: Office

2 coats of American Apparel nail lacquer in 'Office'

I tend to steer well away from green nail polishes, as I don't think they suit my skin tone, however I have a soft spot for minty green shades. I found the formula of this very runny, which was a little bit annoying as I managed to drip a few splodges on my hand. I noticed that the colour can be opaque with one coat. But due to the formula, I found it difficult to get the right amount on the brush so settled on two coats and ended up with a lovely streak-free opaque colour. It dried quickly, which is great and dried to a glossy, but matte-esque finish. I don't think that description makes sense, as glossy and matte are complete opposites, but hopefully you can kind of get an idea of what I mean from the picture...? Without a topcoat, this chipped on me within 2-3 days :(

Have you ever tried AA nail polish? What colours would you recommend?

xoxo, Joy

Collective Haul

I've just uploaded a collective haul to Youtube, so I thought I'd also post it here. It does seem like a lot, but it was bought over a couple of shopping trips and over a few weeks.

I'm sorry if you're sick of seeing videos from me!

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

Tag: I Feel Naked Without

I love doing tag posts, because they're nice and simple to do and a bit of fun :) So I thought I'd make one up myself! I've decided to call it: "I feel naked without..." and the rules are simple:

1) Write a list of 5 things you feel "naked" without

2) Tag 5 people

With regards to feeling "naked", I don't mean literally naked!! It's metaphorical and is basically what you can't leave the house without or what you feel like you've lost a limb without. It can be anything from wearing mascara to your phone or ipod to wearing your favourite piece of jewellery.

I feel naked without...

1) Mascara. If necessary I could go out without any base on, but I have have have to wear mascara. Even if I'm just popping to the shop downstairs, I have to put a bit of mascara on my lashes to stop me looking like a potato head!

2) My watch. I feel weird when I don't wear my watch. My wrist feels naked and I always find myself looking to my wrist even when it's not on.

3) A spritz of perfume. I have to spray some perfume on myself before I go out. I hate going out without spraying some. Sometimes I even resort to taking detours via Debenhams or Selfridges, just so I can make sure I've spritzed myself with perfume! I also carry a mini atomiser in my bag. My favourite at the moment is Philosophy's 'Falling in Love'. And as Coco Chanel once said, "A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future".

4) My glasses. Even when I wear contacts, my face feels naked without my glasses. Out of habit I always go to push them up, even if they're not there. While most people prefer wearing contacts to glasses, I actually prefer wearing my glasses.

5) Lip products. I have to go out with at least something on my lips, whether it's lip balm, lip gloss of lipstick. At the moment, my lip products of choice are Nivea Milk and Honey lip balm, Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream or Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Rivage.

I tag: Everyone! If any of you do this, leave me a link in the comments below :) What do you think of this tag?

Sorry this was a rather wordy and picture less post. Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Spotlight On... Laura Laine

I've decided to start a new periodic feature called "Spotlight On...", which will focus on illustrators, artists, photographers, etc. I used to spend lots of time on Livejournal, Tumblr, Flickr and Deviantart and through those sites discovered a tonne of artists and photographers, which I thought would be nice to share some of their work here. I was trying to do that through "Picture Tuesday" and "Saturday Quote", which I did when I first started my blog, but I kind of got lazy and gave up with those, oops.

First up is the Finnish fashion illustrator, Laura Laine. Laura Laine is a Helsinki based illustrator and has had her work published in Vogue Nippon, Elle, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, etc. I have a top from H&M a few years ago with one of her illustrations on and love it to death! Her illustrations are absolutely beautiful. They're so detailed and I love the hint of haute couture thrown into them.

Illustrations: Laura Laine

What do you think of Laura's work? Who are your favourite fashion illustrators?

Thank you for reading. I'd love to know what you think of this new feature :) xoxo, Joy

Review: Clarisonic Pro

I bought my Clarisonic back in September and thought it was about time to do a review of it! I thought I'd do a video review for a bit of change, but it ended up being a bit of a mess and in a random order. I just kept talking and new comments kept popping into my head as I talked! Also, I apologise in advance for the state of my hair and my monotone! Haha.

Do any of you have a Clarisonic? What do you think of it - worth the money or complete rip off?

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

NOTD: Grazia

1 coat of Tito nail polish in 'Grazia'

I won this in the lovely Aseya's giveaway. This is such a gorgeous hot pink 'Barbie' colour. I own a tonne of pink nail polishes, but don't own one anything like this! This polish has a nice formula, which is super easy to work with. I was impressed that it was opaque in 1 coat and dried quickly, because I hate having to wait around for my nail polish to dry. I found it lasted well on my nails and only experienced minor tipwear after a few days.

What's your favourite hot pink nail polish?

xoxo, Joy

Haul From Home

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in approximately a week, I was at home for reading week at the end of October and was either spending time with my family, babysitting my sister or revising throughout most of it, so I didn't get much of a chance to blog and then when I got back to the flat, our internet had decided to go kaput and we have only got it back today. Thank goodness for mobile internet!!

Somehow I always manage to bring back to Birmingham a lot more than I take home! So I thought I'd show you my 'haul' of the stuff I brought back from home to Birmingham.

Post

I get most parcels sent home because of a few issues I've had with Birmingham postal service in the past. I won a giveaway from Shadahada's blog, but there were customs charges to pay and the postman left a card at the beginning of October. Unluckily, my parents went to China and America throughout the whole of October, so unfortunately I missed that and I think it got sent back to her :(

I was lucky enough to win the lovely Aseya's giveaway a while back. She was generous enough to post the item and added a few other goodies with it. I love the nail polish! That will definitely be featured in a NOTD soon! Thank you so much, again, Aseya! :D

I bought teeth whitening bleach from a dental showcase in March, but the trays that came with them were crap. I bought these custom fit trays for £35 on eBay, which is pretty good as it meant I didn't have to pay extortionate amounts at the dentist and the service from the eBay seller was great. They send you 4 pots of impression material and you have to take the impressions yourself (Quite a hilarious feat!) and then send you back our trays and a little vial of bleach. I highly recommend the sellers if you need bleaching trays.

Duty free and America

I asked my parents to pick up a new MAC Studio Fix Fluid for me from duty free, as I thought it'd be worthwhile to save a few pounds buying it in duty free. If I'd known they were going to America, I would have asked them to get it America, but oh well!

When I found out my parents were going to America, the first thing I asked them to pick me up were some Crest toothpaste, as I've heard people rave about these and I wanted to give them a try! I hope they live up to my expectations.

Previously Bought

I went to Bicester Village with my mum and picked up a few things from CCO. The Brighter By Nature Pads have received brilliant reviews on the Origins website, so I persuaded my mum to treat me. I have used a few of the pads and unfortunately I am yet to experience the amazing effects that everyone else has. I will persevere and update you all. The set of the Vitazing, Ginzing eye cream and Drink Up Intensive Mask was a brilliant bargain at around £30! I've been using the Vitazing moisturiser and omgosh, it's love!

I hope this hasn't been too boring for you! Have you tried any of the products I brought back? What did you think of them?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy