SKINCARE UPDATE: THE ORDINARY

Since coming back from Thailand my skin has been all over the place, it seems that sun cream apparently makes my skin break out which wasn't exactly great when I had to wear sun cream everyday. So as soon as I got back home I went on the hunt for some new skincare products, I'd heard a lot of good things about the brand the Ordinary and bought a few products especially when I found out how affordable they are. I wanted products for my blemishes, I picked up the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% first which is also the first step in my skincare routine after cleansing my face. I apply this to my entire face whenever I cleanse and it applies so nicely and hasn't dried my skin out at all which I was nervous about. This is such a lovely product to use and I'm already seeing great results especially when I use it with the next product.

I also picked up the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution which I use on the main areas I get blemishes so my chin and t-zone. Using these together has really helped my skin and to clear my face from scars from previous blemishes, I always have marks from previous blemishes so these are definitely my new favourites. Another product I picked up is the High-Adherence Silicone Primer mainly because the description says it blurs out imperfections including enlarged pores, I'm all for flawless primers! Although I do have dry skin because of my eczema I do also have oily skin because this is a non-greasy formula that is oil free but still applies so well and smoothes and moisturises my skin.

I highly recommend you pick up all of three of these products because I'm already in love with them and need to pick up so many more products from this brand. They're also bringing out a foundation which I'm keeping an eye out for and if you have tried any of their products please let me know what you think!

LINKS:
The Ordinary High-Adherance Silicone Primer
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zing 1%

JULY & TRAVEL FAVOURITES

So I'm sadly back from backpacking around Asia for 3 and a half months and being back home is going to take some time getting used to. I thought it's about time I got back to blogging and update a lot more than I was so let's get started with a July favourites and these are products I was using while I was travelling as well. The first product I've been loving is the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in the shade Bronzed. This is such a lovely bronzer and is such a great shade especially now I have a bit of a tan. I've also been enjoying using the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer, I originally picked this up in the shade Light Neutral which was slightly too dark for me but now I have a tan its the perfect shade. This completely covers any blemishes or marks I have, and it's enough coverage to wear without foundation. If any of you have tried the Urban Decay Naked Weightless Liquid Makeup let me know how you got on with it!

Obviously backpacking isn't exactly luxury living and I wanted to take makeup with me that was light and small to carry and that I knew I'd love so there's definitely some old favourites in here, one of them being the Nars Orgasm blush that luckily enough I have in the travel size. I love the fresh glow this blush gives you, and especially love the flecks of gold in the blush. Speaking of gold and glows my highlighter favourite this month and for the whole of my travelling has bee the Lottie London Shimmer Squad palette. This is such a great palette and saves a lot of space on packing when you've got four beautiful highlights in one palette, my favourite shade has been The Queen Bee. This product and pretty much all of the products help in achieving that dewy summer look which is exactly what I wanted while I was away, these products are also quick and easy to use which made backpacking life a lot easier because of course I was still going to wear makeup, the dead zombie look isn't such a great look for me!

My one and only lipstick I took with me is definitely an old favourite, it's the MAC matte lipstick in the shade Kind of Sexy. This is definitely one of those my lips but better lipsticks, it is matte but when I wanted a dewy makeup look I applied the Nuxe lip balm over the top which worked like a treat. I wanted to keep my makeup quite natural and effortless while I was away so this lovely pink shade was perfect. My favourite scent this month is another old favourite, it's the YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum which I also had in the travel size and which thankfully lasted the whole four months. I won't go on too much about this perfume because I'm certain it's been in a few monthly favourites before, but I love the musky notes of the scent and it lasts all day. The last item is a hair favourite it's the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray which as the name gives away is great for creating tousled loose waves which is the closest thing I can get to curly hair so I'm all for a product that does that for me. 

That is all for now, fingers crossed it won't be long until another post. If there's any posts you'd like to see feel free to leave a comment down below!

LINKS:

Urban Decay Beached Bronzed

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer - Light Neutral

Nars Orgasm Blush

Lottie London Shimmer Squad

MAC matte lipstick - Kind of Sexy

YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum
Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

THAILAND

I'm so excited to say that I'll be backpacking around Thailand starting tomorrow, and when I say backpacking I mean backpacking, jumping from hostel to hostel but what other way is there to do it?! I'm travelling for four months with my boyfriend and if any of you have been to Thailand before and have any tips feel free to comment down below. So as I will be running around with excitement over temples and thai food there won't be any blog posts anytime soon but don't fret there's always Instagram. Give me a follow to keep up with my travels - @_caitdavies

Keep an eye out for a Thailand Travel Guide when I'm back!

A FEW NEW BITS

I thought I would share a few new homeware pieces well more like random pieces that I've acquired recently because they're too cute not too. I'll also be starting university in September and I'm already thinking about my uni room and what homeware bits to take with me. Of course I will be taking the majority of random junk that clutters my room, if any of you are starting uni or in uni at the moment and have any tips or uni room inspiration please share!

STRIPES AND LEATHER

It's finally starting to brighten up a bit and considering it's already March it's about time. Although it is slightly less gloomy it's still too cold so layering jumpers like this striped Topshop bell sleeve jumper is still very much needed. I'm also loving this H&M gold necklace which is a great dupe for the rather expensive Misoma necklace and for £3.99 I'll take it.

I've finally found the perfect and affordable leather jacket from the one and only Zara, correction my mum did but we can all agree that this is mine now. Zara have an array of leather jackets but for some reason they're always cropped. But this one is perfect and I've now stolen it from my mum it's now mine forever!

A short and sweet post but keep an eye out for more...

THINGS I MENTIONED:
TOPSHOP Striped bell sleeve jumper - similar here
TOPSHOP Joni Jeans
Black Converse
Zara Leather Jacket
Zara Chain Bag
H&M Sunglasses
H&M Gold necklace

CURRENT FAVOURITES

There's a few products I've been loving recently so I thought a current favourites was in order. I'll start with a product that I may have forgotten about but have re-discovered it recently and I don't know why I ever stopped using this, it's the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in the shade Marvellous Mauve. I love this shade and the formula is amazing and it lasts all day on my lips, I only ever reapply this after eating more as a routine than actually needing to. I may have neglected a few of my liquid matte lipsticks recently but now I'm back to loving them all over again! Another slightly neglected product is the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow bronzer in the shade light to medium, which is such a beautiful warm shade and reminds me of warm summer days. I can't wait to start wearing this for a lovely warm bronze glow especially when the weather starts to brighten up. Let's hope that's pretty soon because I'm already sick of this gloomy weather.

A new product I picked up is this Lottie London Shimmer Squad Powder Highlighter Quad, I picked this up after hearing a few people saying it was dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighter quad. This is such an amazing quad of highlighters and so affordable, they're such great shades and so pigmented. Believe it or not it only cost me £9.99 so I definitely recommend you run to your nearest Superdrug and pick this up! If any of you have tried any other Lottie London products let me know what you think, I have my eye on their eyeshadow palettes.

My next favourite is a skincare product I got for Christmas, it's the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth cleanser. I do love this product and I have noticed a difference in my skin but it does dry my skin slightly so that's the only thing I will say if your thinking about getting this. If any of you have any skincare recommendations leave a comment down below because I'm always open to suggestions especially when it comes to sorting my face out.

My last two favourites aren't beauty, the first one is the book Bloom by Estee Lalonde. I'm sure you all watch her youtube channel and if you love watching her videos and reading her blog then your going to love her book. It's such a great easy read and not to mention the beautiful photos that go with it. My last favourite is this Matalan pink furry pillow that I'm obsessed with and now need another 100 of them to fill my bed with. I also picked this up to take to uni which I'll be starting in September and just love how fluffy and cosy it is! I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what your recent favourites have been and leave a comment down below.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow
Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
Sephora Cream Lip Stain - Marvellous Mauve
Lottie London Shimmer Squad Powder Highlighter Quad
Bloom by Estee Lalonde
Matalan pink pillow

LEOPARD AND PINK

So an outfit post has been well overdue and what better way to start than with this lovely leopard tailored coat from the cheap and cheerful Primark. You can never have too many leopard print coats or anything in that matter so I wasn't leaving this one behind even if it's slightly too big, but the more oversized the better.

I may as well live in this Metallica t-shirt from Brandy Melville, I'm constantly reaching for it but I can never resist a band t-shirt. Band t-shirts never fail to look good whether you dress them up or down, their so comfy and a wardrobe must have. If anyone knows of any websites or stores where they have some good band t-shirts, preferably an ACDC top, feel free to leave a comment down below.

I'm pretty sure every outfit post I've done has some sort of Zara bag in it, so why stop this tradition now! I love this Chanel-esque padded chain bag, it actually fits more than just my phone in it, which is a always a positive. I won't have another rant about how I love Zara bags but they are pretty much the only reason I dare to go into the Cardiff store and put up with the terrible customer service so let's just all take a minute to thank Zara for it's wonderful bags. 

Another recent addition to my wardrobe are these Vagabond Grace ankle boots that I've already worn to death. If your in need of a new pair of boots then you should definitely have a look at these because they're so comfy to wear and help me look slightly less of a short arse! I may have neglected this Topshop faux fur scarf this winter but I have dragged it back out and love it all over again, its ink and fluffy so what's not to love.

I hope you liked this post and keep an eye out for another post coming soon, feel free to comment down below and head over to my instagram for more updates! (Everything linked below)

THINGS I MENTIONED:

Primark Leopard coat

TOPSHOP Joni jeans

Vagabond Grace boots

TOPSHOP Faux fur scarf

Zara padded chain bag

Brandy Melville Metallica top

Instagram: _caitdavies

Twitter: DaviesCaitlinn