• Kiehls Ultimate Man Refueling Set. This is perfect because most guys don’t think to buy themselves high end skincare. They tend to grab whatever is at the drugstore and be on their way. They may not be so thrilled with this gift at first, but once they try out the products they’ll be singing a different tune.
• Cologne is always good, especially if it’s your boyfriend or husband. My husband is a fan of Viktor & Rolf’s Spicebomb, but what’s really important is that you like they way it smells too, so shop around and make sure to clear your head with those coffee beans.
• Or if he already uses higher end skincare then you might want to try something like The Art Of Shaving’s kits. Using a higher end shaving cream really does make a difference.
• If the guy in your life is big on exercising, or just prefers a sporty look then a sport watch like this Nike+ Sport with GPS would be absolutely perfect.
• For the guy that’s just turned 21 or is an alcohol connoisseur then these Villeroy &Boch Scotch Tumblers are perfect. If they already have drinkwear then try something like these Whiskey Stones which are perfect because they cool your drinks without watering them down.
• Everyone is obsessed with their iPhones these days it seems, and this Olloclip is a really cool accessory that allows you to take better pictures with your phone. For the tech guy or photography buff in your life this gift is absolutely perfect.
• Something that’s entirely practical is a scarf. I love to give scarves usually ones that I’ve knit myself, and my husband likes them because for a while after I’ve made them they smell like me. If you’re not a knitter try picking up this Gap Buffalo Checkered Scarf and then give it a spray of your favorite perfume. Let it air out for a while before you wrap it so it will smell very faintly of you every time he uses it.
• Because we all know that some boys just never grow up, a remote control Helicopter is the perfect toy for the adult boy in your life. With a usb charger, gyroscope, LED light and metal  body this Phantom Gyro Helicopter is wicked cool.
• Of course I’m going to recommend a Sweater, personally I think this Heritage Irish Fisherman’s Crew Neck Sweater is perfect. But really you can get great sweaters at a multitude of places.
• Finally my husband said that a good quality wallet is always a good gift. He personally picked this Jack Spade Mill Leather Bill Holder, because he said it looks well made and still relatively slim.

Once again these are just suggestions and hopefully they make your shopping this season just a bit easier and more seemless.

I bought the Kiehls Rare Earth Cleanser and Toner a while ago. Originally I had gone in to get the Rare Earth Mask but they didn’t have it, and since I needed a Cleanser and Toner I just went for these. I still haven’t bought the mask, but I really want to.

I don’t think I’ve had a rave review about a cleanser in a very long time. Not since Liz Earle broke my heart. But I really like this cleanser. It’s a cream cleanser, which means it doesn’t foam at all. Which I like. I’m not actually a fan of foaming cleansers, I much prefer cream, balm, or milk cleansers. This one has bits of Amazonian Clay in it that help soak up the oil, keep it at bay and provide a bit of exfoliation. But unlike other products that claim to have gentle exfoliation this one really doesn’t tear at your skin or rip open acne blemishes unless you scrub too hard. It sort of reminds me of that Dermalogica Powder exfoliant, which I have added to this on occasion to give it some extra oomph.  I absolutely adore this cleanser, and while it took me a while to figure out how much to use, you really only need the tiniest bit, I will be repurchasing this when it runs out. I keep forgetting how much I love Kiehls products until I repurchase one.

How I Use It: This is either the first or second step in my routine. I use it every morning first thing, followed by another cleanser and the rest of my routine, and if I’m not wearing makeup I use it first at night, followed by the same morning routine, but if I’ve worn makeup that day then I take my makeup off first then follow with my morning routine. I apply it to slightly damp skin, and then take it off with a Hot cloth.

I’m gonna have to give this toner the same love that I’m giving the cleanser in this line. If you have oily skin even if you use nothing else, use this before your moisturizer. I’ve used it with another toner before, I’ve used it on it’s own. With the Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleanser, with Origins products,  with a heavy moisturizer, and with a light oil free one. In a box, with some socks, this toner is better than green eggs and ham. Instead of feeling oily all day, my skin feels like it properly absorbs my moisturizer and is clean and fresh. It’s probably my favorite toner I’ve ever used.

How I Use It: I mentioned above this varies. Sometimes I use it with another toner or other products, but it’s always the last toner I use if I’m using other toners with it. I shake the bottle really well, poor a bit in my hand and pat all over my face. A little goes a long way, and I find I use less of this product applying it this way, rather than with a cotton pad.

All in all I highly recommend both of these products if you have oily skin.

I’m running out of my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, and I don’t know if my skin has changed or if their formula has changed, but it didn’t work for my skin this time around. So I picked up the Kiehl’s Rare Earth Cleanser. I bought this cleanser because it seems that my skin has been absolutely out of control oily lately. I’ve only used it for 2 days now but it seems to be helping.

Then because I actually am completely out of my Liz Earle Toner I also picked up the Rare Earth Toner, which I kinda really love because it separates and has powder or something in the bottom, and then you shake it up to use it.

I also ran out of my Fresh mask and wanted to pick up the Kiehls Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Mask but they were out of stock so I ended up with a bunch of samples. Only one of those is Kiehls, the others are Kate Sommerville, Clarins and Dr. Dennis Gross.

Then after I checked out I noticed that they had some new Emi-Jay hairties so I grabbed a couple packs for myself, and I grabbed the same ones to give to Sarahbelle. These seriously are my all time favorite hairties, and even though I keep loosing them, and they’re kinda expensive I will always repurchase these. I can pretty much guarantee that I will include a pack of these in my future 100 followers giveaway (hey, I can dream right?)

I know I said I was going to stick with Liz Earle, but I really do think they reformulated or something because my face actually seemed to get a bit worse. I had some left from the last time I bought it, and my skin started to clear up. When I started the new bottle I didn’t change anything or add in any new skincare that I hadn’t been using before and my face started getting worse. I’m actually really heartbroken about it, because I had such good results the first time around and I honestly thought it was going to be my holy grail. But I guess it’s back to the drawing board. Everytime I say ” OMG I love this forever” it either gets reformulated or my skin begins to hate it.

Which brings me to a company that actually is doing better. I tweeted a few weeks ago that I was mad my Sephora never had samples of the Ren Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask, because since I have sensitive skin I wanted to try it before I bought it. Last week Ren’s Twitter contacted me and said if I emailed them my address they’d be more than happy to send me a sample. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. I’ve seen them mention sending people samples before, for those that legitimately ask about a product. But still I was surprised when not only did they reply to me a week later, they replied with an apology for taking so long, and an offer to send me a sample.

I mean really that’s just good business right there. So many companies would have ignored my complaint or if they replied they would have told me to go ahead and buy it because they’re sure I’d love it. But instead Ren took the time to send my a sample at their cost, with no guarantee that I would either purchase it full size, or that I would review it on my blog. I doubt they even knew I had I blog. Plus they gave it cute packaging.

And the best bit? I will be buying the mask because I absolutely adore it. I used it the night I got it, and it was lovely. It looked and felt a bit like marmalade out of the packaging, but it smoothed on the skin very nicely. It felt lovely for the 10 minutes I had it on my skin, and only tingled a little bit in a pleasant way. It washed off easy and it left my skin glowing, and feeling amazing. Since I’ve only used it once and that was last night I can’t tell how it’s going to affect my acne, but so far so good. Bonus, it smelled amazing, like pumpkin butter, which being completely in love with fall, I am also in love with all things pumpkin.

With one simple sample, Ren has earned themselves a loyal customer. I’ve already ordered their Hudra Calm Gentle Cleansing Milk to use after my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, because I double cleanse and I finally completely ran out of my Caudalie Gentle Cleanser.

To me this showed that Ren knows they have a quality product and their willing to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. I couldn’t be more happy with this company and my sample. I can’t wait to add this mask to my skincare routine.

In

• Gap Tee Shirts, they really do have the perfect fit for me,as you’ll see very soon.
• Reading, I haven’t been reading much lately, but I just finished the book Easy by Tamara Webber and I want to read more and I might start doing book reviews here, inspired of course by my next in…
• Booktubers, specifically Chaperstackss. She has the most similar reading taste to me of the booktubers I’ve watched, and I always adore any of the books she recommends.
• Bare Nails, I know my nail challenge isn’t going well, because I keep buying polishes. But I’m really loving nothing on my nails right now. They’re finally not peeling anymore.
• Fresh’s Umbrian Clay Mask, gentle enough to use every night, and effective at the same time, review on this very soon, but just a warning it will be a rave.
• Howl, he’ll always be in, because I love him with all of my heart and he’s so cute and cuddly, but sometimes his behavior isn’t (see below)
• Ren Skincare as a company, you already know why if you follow me on twitter, but there will be an upcoming post explaining why.
• My new blog design, I adore it, and it makes me so happy, and feel very loved, because my husband spent 2 very frustrating days designing it for me. It may be among the top 5 gifts he’s ever given me, right up there with my Valentines Red Hunters, my Surprise Asos Anniversary Present, Howl and my engagement ring.
• Homemade Tazo Passion fruit Tea, better than Starbucks and only 50 cents a glass, I’ll have a post up about it soon.

Out

• Howl not sleeping, he looks so sweet in that image up there, but that was taken the day he came home, right now it’s 2:33 am and he’s running around like a nutcase and growling at everything. He’s so naughty, but so adorable.
• My bank Balance, seriously I have so many things I want to buy, but my bank says I’m broke. I keep shouting, THE SHOES, at my balance, but it like Roy and Moss, just don’t get it.
• Not sleeping, I know I just covered this, but really not sleeping sucks.
• This Heat, it’s insufferable, I can’t take anymore of it. I am a fall girl, or early to mid spring, but not summer at all.
• Folding Laundry, I’ve always hated it, but now that it’s hot I hate it even more.
• Acne, I just want it to go away, if I found a genie I would wish for acne and scar free skin, with enough freckles for them to be noticeable and pretty, but not so many that I’m covered or look like one giant freckle with no hidden cost, and at the harm of no one else. Don’t you read? Genies always trick you, and make you end up regretting your wish, and then you spend several chapters trying to get back what you had. Blah Blah Blah appreciate what you have and all that good stuff.

I guess I’m lucky this week? month? Not yet sure how frequent these will be. But I’m lucky because right now I have more things that I’m happy with than those that I’m unhappy with, and that’s a wonderful thing to realize. I just went from being grumpy to really happy. Now I’m off to bed and I’ll be posting this first thing in the morning, or afternoon, I’m actually really awful about that, yesterdays post didn’t go up til nearly 6pm, whoops.

Similar to the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion it has pink goo on the bottom and a clear liquid on top. To apply it to your face you dip a q-tip straight down and then dot it on your acne. I use this every night provided my face isn’t feeling to sensitive. It’s not drying but it does sting a bit if the blemish is new or open. I put this on all my blemishes until they go away completely.  As much as I hate to show this photo, here’s what it looks like once applied.

That’s a lot of pink right? Most of those are mostly healed up, but now you can see that I’m not kidding when I say I have severe hormonal acne. Also please excuse the bags under my eyes, it’s partially the angle and partially that this photo was taken at 1 am the day before I went to the pride festival. I had just finished the DIY floral crown I recently posted.

This, among other things I’ve recently added to my routine, is really helping, it used to be much worse than it looks now. While this isn’t an instant cure, there really isn’t anything for acne that actually is.

I ordered the July Essentials kit and got the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, Instant Skin Boost Tonic, Skin Repair Light Moisturizer which is for oily/combination skin, and 2 pure muslin cloths.

It also came with this Energizing Hip and Thigh Gel as your complimentary gift for ordering the Essentials kit. It claims to leave the skin feeling softer, firmer and more toned, and despite it’s name
is meant to be used on your arms, legs and stomach. I’m a bit curious, and as it was free I’m willing to give it a go, and probably a review.

Bonus with every order they sneak in a trial size, I got the Cleanse and Polish that came with a mini  Muslin Cloth

How cute is their packaging by the way? I love when companies take the extra time to make their wrapping pretty. The could have just thrown it in some bubble wrap or packing peanuts. but no they actually took the time to tissue paper it all up and make it look more like a present rather than just something I ordered. It was so pretty I almost didn’t want to unwrap it.

You may notice I didn’t order a mask or any treatments. Well I have a plan, you see I tend to get bored of my routine, I usually like to try new things when I run out. But I’ve learned that I can’t be doing that anymore, and that I need to keep the core of my skincare routine the same, so to speak. But I’ve also noticed that switching masks doesn’t irritate my skin, so long as it’s gentle and is for my skin type. Same goes for Serums and things like that.  And there’s my plan so to speak, to keep from getting bored of my routine, I’m going to be trying new masks and treatments, while keeping the core of my routine the same. I’m actually really excited about this.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t try any new skincare items if I was given them. Liz Earle isn’t perfect, I did still get the odd cyst here and there while I was using it. Which is why I ended up switching in the first place, I had gone to try the Murad mask and saw they had the mask in a beginners kit for the same price as the mask on it’s own. Well you saw how that worked out, and how the mask fared when compared to the Caudalìe Purifying Mask. So if you think there might be something better out there for me, then let me know either in the comments below, or send me an email which can be found on my PR page or check out my contact me page.

The only issue is I don’t know if I can do a proper review on these products, because you see I’m already almost out of the Cleanser and halfway through the Toner. And I shouldn’t be, because according to Sephora I purchased the Cleanser on the 4th of June and the Toner on the 9th of June. Frankly this makes me flat angry, because for $32 and $24 respectively I should not be running out of either product. This is why I’m “reviewing” them together. I just don’t have enough to say about each for a full post on their own.

The Cleanser is what really baffles me, a little bit goes a long way, but the top of my package is leaky, so maybe that’s where it’s all going. It lathers well but isn’t bubbly and is lovely to use with my Clarisonic. I really enjoy the way it smells. It’s sort of gel like and I feel it’s more like a medicinal type cleanser than a luxurious cleanser. Just a get the job done type thing, where as the Caudalie cleanser and the Liz Earle cleanser just feel amazing.

The toner however, I know exactly why I’m halfway through it. It says to use two pumps on a cotton ball or cotton round, and then swipe over your face. The problem with this is 2 pumps barely covers my forehead and I don’t exactly have a big head or anything. I end up using 5 or 6 pumps on a cotton round. It’s sort of a non-scent in that I don’t really notice the smell of it. It does sting if you’ve got a sore bit or an open blemish. Other than that, I don’t have anything else to say about it. I wish you didn’t have to use so much of it so it would have last me longer, because I do like it.

Have you tried these Kate Somerville products? Am I judging them to harshly?

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In short, kinda. I used this for a while, as a mini mask in the morning. I’d wash my face, then dry it. I’d apply a thin layer of this and let sit for anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. It would burn a lot when I put it on, and then that would kinda fade to not so bad of a burning feeling. I actually kind of hated that part. When I’d take it off my skin would feel a bit raw, but that went away after I used my toner and moisturizer.It did seem to help my acne. It didn’t clear it up though, and after awhile my skin got very sensitive to it. Especially once I added in a retinol treatment. At first I just stopped using it like a mask and started using it like a wash, but then it no longer seemed like the product was doing anything for my skin. If I did leave it on for a few minutes it was excruciating.  Then I actually had to completely stop using it after that. My skin would burn no matter what I put on it and it just felt really raw and angry. I’m pretty sure this was just much to harsh for my face, considering I have insanely sensitive, allergy prone skin.

I’m a bit sad about the fact that this didn’t work for me, because it has amazing reviews, and it’s not that expensive since a little bit really goes a long way. It did help,my acne wasn’t gone, but it didn’t seem as imbedded and painful as it was before. Maybe if I had been able to use it longer it would have cleared up my face, because I was only able to use it for a little more than a month.  So if your acne isn’t as severe as mine, or if you don’t have sensitive skin like I do then I say give it a go.

You’ll probably see that most of the reviews I have of a product that aren’t rave, end up with me having some kind of bad reaction to it. My skin is so insanely sensitive and it’s really hard to find the right combination of products that doesn’t for lack of a better phrase tick it off.

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Here’s the overview of what I’ve purchased:

And now a close up of what I bought.

First we have a bunch of Kate Somerville products, I’m not going to go into detail because their will be a review coming on these items soon.

From left to right there is the Gentle Daily Wash, Protect SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen, RetAsphere 2-in-1 Retinol Night Cream, Clarifying Treatment Toner, EradiKate Acne Treatment. I know I just bought a ton of Caudalìe Products, the only thing I didn’t finish before purchasing something else was the Toner. I finished the cleanser, but I want to repurchase it for makeup removal because I love it. While I purchased a night cream I am still using the Caudalìe Moisturizing Sorbet every morning, sometimes at night on top of the RetAsphere, but more about that later. I was also given samples of the ExfoliKate and long story short I’m probably going to be purchasing the full size.

I also picked up this 500 pt perk of Benefits Girl Meets Pearl, Benetint and Bad Gal Lash. quick review is that I love it all.

 Then I finally listened to Maxwell and bought the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla. This product deserves it’s own post, so I won’t say anything more about it, except Maxwell recommended it to me, so you can pretty much guess how that review is going to go.

 This was another 100 pt perk at some point in time, its the Korres Greek Yogurt Sleeping Facial which I haven’t used yet but I really really want too. I actually got two of these and am going to give one to T because she just had a baby and deserves a bit of pampering.

 Then I got the Raspberry Sorbet Philosophy 3 in 1 wash. I love this brand for body washes (as I have said before). My skin got a little sensitive to the perfumes in the Love Sweet Love one, so I strayed a bit to the Caudalìe wash, but I ended up returning it because it left my skin feeling stripped. Switching scents is exactly what I needed, and I’ll probably be able to go back to the other one soon.

Then finally, my largest purchase in a while, I finally bought a Clarisonic, specifically the Acne Clearing Collection Mia 2. I haven’t used the wash that came with it, but I have been using it consistently. Once again this product will be getting it’s very own review soon. This is actually the product that I bought before my last haul, but it somehow didn’t get photographed in time to go into that haul.

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Bonus Note: I totally had to consult my mommy about my grammar in this post, if it’s still off, don’t judge, I’m exhausted.