Skin care has never been something that I've invested in, it all seemed a little complicated and unnecessary for me back in the day. I was quite happy with a face cloth and a good old bar of dove soap. From a young age I was never prone to any dry skin, spots or blemishes of any kind, it had been looked after and was glowing. But then things changed (as they do when you turn 13) and my skin started to become unbalanced. I started finding my skin oily in certain areas and dry in others to the point when I ended up with really painful and severe acne mainly around my forehead (thank god for huge fringes). I don't think it was something that a lot of people noticed, but it certainly made me a lot more self-conscious of what was going on under that mad combover of mine.

So as parents do, mine tried to help me and invested a lot of time and money into helping me get rid of the mass lumps on my face. Certain things made it worse, others cleared it up amazingly. But it was a constant battle of trying to find the right balance and being able to rely on it. So after nothing really worked I consulted a doctor who has given me a drying lotion for the spots and tablets to clear up the bacteria causing the breakouts. Like it was meant to it got rid of the spots and gave me a much clearer complexion, that I even patched the fringe.

But now at 19 years old where I do wear makeup most days, I'm finding myself tackling some more frequent breakouts. Nothing major enough to make me want to go to a doctor but enough for me to want to try and invest in skin care. I don't quite as much have a routine as yet but I have been trying out some products and this Nuetrogena Visibly Clear range has been working wonders;

Using the gentle scrub exfoliator every other day and the facial wash daily has managed to get rid of any blackheads, whiteheads or spots on my face. Not only is it gentle to my sensitive skin, but it smells like heaven. Both the scrub and wash make your face feel cool and refreshed, helping me wake up every morning as well (which I definitely need). Once I use these products I'll then follow on with the  oil-free moisturiser, mainly around my nose so I get rid of any dry/flaky skin. Using these before bed and pre-makeup'd everyday has made my skin feel significantly softer, look brighter and has reduced blemishes in just 1 week. Maybe I'm just new to this whole skin care thing, but Neutrogena are definitely doing something right.

You can pick these products up in most shops, online retailers and drugstores, as the brand are well known and established in the UK/US. As well as this range of "Visibly Clear" products there are other lines which may suit your problem areas and skin type better. I picked these up while shopping in my local ASDA for £3 each, but you should be able to get them online as well. As usual all items and topics in todays blog will be linked below- let me know your skin care secrets and if you've tried these products out before. I hope you guys have a fab day, I'll see ya soon.

Email: haute.bothered@gmail.com

Twitter: HauteBothered_

Instagram: Haute_Bothered

Useful Links:Oil Free Moisturiser, Grapefruit Facial Wash, Grapefruit Daily Scrub

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Must Haves or Must Hate - Beauty Bargins

Recently I've found myself drawn to a website based in mainland China. Now we've all most likely heard of online Chinese wholesalers and their reputation for being a little sketchy and unreliable. But I came across this website on the hunt for some cheap matte lipsticks which I wanted to buy and review. Its name is Aliexpress and to be honest when I found it I put little faith, trust or pixie dust in the hopes that my stuff would actually arrive; be the right item, colour or even be here at all. But when prices are as low as 10 PENCE its human nature to be at least a little intrigued. So I ordered those matte lipsticks like I said I would (I'll get another post on that shortly) but found myself wandering around not only their beauty products, but their tech & womenswear as well.

So I've decided to do a series of posts and reviews about the items which I'll film later in a collective haul (Still waiting on one last thing). So take this as you will, maybe as a "how to shop carefully online" or "how to get high quality products for pennies". The views are all my own and if I love it or hate it- you will most definitely be able to tell.

Okay so here comes the good, bad and the ugly. The first few things that came through the door were 3 collections of eyelashes. I was never one for wearing fake lashes because my own naturally are long enough, though recently i have found myself adoring the finish they give to a plain eye look. First up we have the two 5 pack eyelashes (the ones on the blue holder) and honestly I've ran out of one pack already, these are now my holy grail and if you've seen me wearing these lashes in the last 3 weeks - its been these bad boys. They cost me (at the time) 56 pence, LIKE SERIOUSLY!! Thats roughly 10 pence each.

Now the next ones are a little bit more daring, I do warn the plain Janes or the faint hearted. These lashes I seen on some photographic feedback and they looked liked that Kylie Jenner lash; yeno, the long & uber curly insta-famous look? I put them on and by dear god were these huge (bearing in mind I'm not into that look) I put one on momentarily and i felt the right hand side of my face just fail completely. I don't know how Kylie does it but damn they where heavy, it honestly felt like I had backcombed my eyelashes. So yeah these are going back in the drawer for a costume party or something where I'll have the guts to wear them. But to be fair the quality is amazing and again at the price of 69 pence- I can't really moan. If this is the look you're into then I would definitely try them out- In fact pop me and email, text or DM and I can post you them out.

Thee shopping experience wasn't all that bad to be honest, they came in only 12 days (I ordered on the 20/1 and they came 2/2) and I'll list the exact sellers below. My only advice would be to research what you're buying, compare it to other wholesalers on the site and make sure theres at least 1 piece of photographic feedback. These lashes didn't come with glue but I picked some up from ASDA which is basically facial superglue for around £2. So let me know what you think in the comments below, if you've ever bought anything or if you would like advice. As normal all relative links will be put below and maybe a few more examples of the same (or similar items) that you can compare. These are my views and experience only, but due to the wholesalers and the type of website yours way vary. But so far following these steps has proved to work in my favour. I hope this has helped and I'll speak to you all very soon.

Email: haute.bothered@gmail.com

Twitter: HauteBothered_

Instagram: Haute_Bothered

Useful Links: Thick Lashes, Holy Grail Lash, My Eyelash Glue, More Lashes, Lash Glue

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All about that KIKO

KIKO is probably that make up brand that has similar pricing to the likes of Rimmel, Maybeline etc. but I've always found it to have higher quality. Since starting back college I've tried to start saving for summer & paying off my car so I can minimise my outgoings in the long run obviously (because right now everthings going to bills and savings). So I set myself a challenge for the next few months by trying to find high quality make up at lower prices.

I went to the Glasgow fort to get my brows did, and on the way noticed that KIKO had a huge sale so it would've been unlike me if I never popped in for a look. After just having ran out of one of my foundations and I seen this as an experiment to try out some new ones. Kiko had lots on the sale some with 50% off so I got colour matched grabbed some and got on with it.

Now recently all I've done is buy lip products soo it was kinda obvious I'd pick up one, or three. Since I use baby wipes all the time I've been meaning to invest in a good cleanser so I picked up some bits from that. So after that quick 15 minutes in the shop I came out with a bag packed with stuff and heres what I got;

  

So where should I start first... Well maybe about how bloody cheap everything was. Ill get started with the cleansing products; The Kiko 'Purifying Pads' I picked up for only £3.95 reduced from £9-£10 (sorry I can't remember exactly) & the 'Cleansing Foam' which again was £3.95 in the sale. Both items look like they are store only content, because I've struggled to find more of the purifying pads online. Ive pretty much ran out of both these items already, but I've found my skin to be a lot more clearer and softer when using these over the last few weeks.

Moving on I then picked up some foundations a liquid, cream & a powder. The first one I got matched was the Unlimited foundation (basically because it had the same consistency as MAC Studio Sculpt) which was the only product not in the sale at £14.90, but now is available for as little as £7.40 depending on the skin tone - Mines is in Neutral 40. Moving on I picked up the BB Glow Compact in the shade 06, which is the cream foundation which I just wear everyday or as a top up to the Unlimited foundation if I need super high coverage. Im picked this up for about £4.90 reduced from £12 or so.  Finally for my face I picked up the standard Compact Powder in Shade 105 for only £4.90 from £9.90. Thats like a full face of make up for as little as £18 pounds.

Finally my lipstick habit got fed when I picked up 3 super pigmented and fab colours. Firstly I got two from the Luminous Chrome Collection in shades 703 (Metallic finish) & 500 (Creamy finish) both for £2 each. The next one I picked up purely because the packaging was unreal for the price tag of £3.70, the Intensely Lavish lipstick in the shade 05.

Unfortunately some of the products I purchased in store are not seeming to be available online,  if you have a KIKO Milano near you then I would highly recommend going into the the store rather than searching online. But as usual I'll have everything linked below (that I can) hopefully to help you find the products or a store near you. I hope this was helpful and gave you an insight into Kiko Cosmetics. Have a great day guys, i'll speak to you soon.

Email: haute.bothered@gmail.com

Twitter: HauteBothered_

Instagram: Haute_Bothered

Useful Links: KIKO Sale, Unlimited Foundation, Compact Powder, Luscious Cream Lipstick, Luminous Chrome Metallic Lipstick, Intensely Lavish Lipstick. Store Locator

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